Last week, my friend (Kyla P.) asked me to post some of the recipes I use for Thanksgiving…being that it would be easier to have them all in one place, instead of rooting through my books looking for them! (Good idea!) So, in case anyone else is interested, I figure this is the most accessible place to post them, right? So here goes!

Keep in mind that these are all based on my mom’s original recipes. I just added to them and changed things per my own preferences. AND I totally believe in sharing old-fashioned recipes…otherwise they end up lost to the ravages of time and technology.First of all is one of my favorites (and my kids wouldn’t know what to do if it wasn’t on the table at Thanksgiving)…Cornbread Stuffing!

Cornbread Stuffing

Cornbread:
2 c. Cornmeal
2 c. Flour
½ c. Sugar
2 t. Salt
6 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Black Pepper
4 Fresh Sage Leaves (finely chopped)
1 t. Rubbed Sage
2 Eggs
½ c. Oil
2 c. Milk
*Note: If fresh sage is unavailable, use 2 t. of rubbed sage.

Combine ingredients and bake in greased 9×13 glass baking dish at 400 for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumble cornbread into large bowl and set aside.

Stuffing:
1 Onion (Finely Chopped)
5 Celery Stalks (Finely Chopped)
Leaves stripped from 15-20 Fresh Thyme Branches (or 2-3 t. dried Thyme)
Leaves stripped and chopped from 15-20 Fresh Rosemary Branches (or 2-3 t. dried Thyme)
10-16 Fresh Sage Leaves (Finely chopped) (or 1-2 t. Rubbed Sage)
1-2 t. Dried Marjoram
Water or Warm Turkey Broth to consistency desired. (*I prefer water.)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Add Marjoram into crumbled cornbread. Next, sauté onion and celery in butter. When onion and celery have sautéed a little, add the fresh herbs and finish sautéing. (If using dried herbs, do not sauté them. Instead, add dried herbs directly into crumbled cornbread with marjoram.) Once vegetables and herbs are finished sautéing, mix them into crumbled cornbread.
(If necessary, add salt and pepper to taste—but be careful with the salt. The herbs are strong enough to add flavor and it’s easy to over-salt.) Mix in add ½–1 cup of water (my preference) or turkey broth until stuffing is moist but not soggy. (I find turkey broth can cause the stuffing to taste too strong and overpowers the flavor of the cornbread and herbs.)

Place stuffing in glass baking dish or bowl, cover and heat thoroughly before serving.

Note: My mom (Patsy C. States Reed) always made cornbread stuffing at Thanksgiving. I’m not exactly sure what her original recipe was, but it was very similar to this. I think I just add a lot more herbs (specifically fresh ones).

*Second we have what my mom always called, “Candied Yams!”

Marcia’s Candied Yams

Ingredients:
3-5 Yams (parboiled, with skins removed) *Note: I boil my yams until they are softened, but not overly soft. Then I dump the water out of the pan, let the yams sweat in the pan for a while, then just peel off the skins with a butter knife.
¼ to ½ c. Butter
1 c. Water
½ to 1 c. Brown Sugar
A pinch to ¼ t. of Ground Cloves

Slice parboiled and peeled yams into sliced and or pieced at least 1 inch thick. Melt butter in large electric skillet. Add water, brown sugar and cloves. Heat mixture until bubbling, and then place yams into skillet. Simmer yams and syrup for about 15 minutes, gently moving yams around occasionally. Turn yams after 15 minutes and cook at a low simmer for another 15 minutes. (Syrup will be really thick by the time they are finished.) Keep yams warm until ready to serve.

*Note: My mom (Patsy C. States Reed) makes Candies Yams this way. I’m not even sure how anyone else even makes them, since these are so good that I’ve never tried anything different!

*Mmmmm! The most important recipe of all…Pumpkin Pie! (Thanks to my daughter, Sandy…because I didn’t have this one typed up in my computer, but she did!) Also, if you have a really delicious pie crust of your own, us it! Mine is VERY basic!

Marcia’s Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup Butter
7 tablespoons Ice Water

Pie Filling Ingredients:
1 large can Libby’s Pumpkin
3 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
5 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 ½ cans Evaporated Milk (Equals 2 ¼ cups. I finally measured it one year!)

4 tablespoons Flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix dry dough ingredients together well then cut in butter. Add water, one table spoon at a time until dough leaves sides of bowl easily. Separate into two equal balls. Roll out each one until two inches larger than an upside down 9inch pie pan. Carefully put rolled out pie dough into 2 (9 inch) pie pans, cut extra dough off, then fold edges under to form a smooth crust. Style as desired.

In a new bowl, mix pumpkin, eggs, and sugars well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Separate equally into the two pie pans. Cover with foil tents and bake for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 and bake for 45-60 minutes or until knife comes out of the middle of pie clean.

*I prefer my pumpkin pie cold and served with fresh-whipped whipping cream (I add sugar and vanilla extract to mine when it starts to whip up) OR the kind that comes in the can that you can spray right into your mouth!

*Note: I am VERY persnickety about pumpkin pie! In the end, that’s why I fiddled around until I came up with one that was as close to my mom’s recipe as possible, but measured up to my persnickety-ness. Hope you like this! I’m always nervous when I share it…just in case someone else is as persnickety about pumpkin pie as I am!

*And finally…if you need a snack later Thanksgiving night, here’s our families favorite…Nacho Cheese Doritos with my infamous Sixty Dollar Avocado Dip!

Sixty Dollar Avocado Dip

Ingredients:
1 8oz. Package of Cream Cheese (softened)
4-6 Medium Avocados (peeled and mashed)
½ c. Finely Chopped Onion
2 T. Lemon Juice
½ - 1 t. Garlic Powder
½ - 1 t. Salt
2 c. Diced Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
1 – 3 t. Tabasco Sauce (basically “to taste”)

Combine softened cream cheese and avocados and mix well (sometimes I use an electric mixer). Stir in lemon juice, onion, garlic powder, salt and Tabasco Sauce. Gently fold in tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serve with Nacho Cheese Doritos.

*Note: The original recipe for this family favorite of ours came from a guy in the neighborhood we lived in while I was growing up in the North Valley. His name was Paul Lopez. The recipe as it stands now includes some subtle changes I made over the years. It has endured as a family tradition and holiday favorite since before I was married. *In the summer of 2011, my friends Danielle Jessen and Lesa “Weezy” O’Driscoll came to visit. Danielle wanted me to make my “famous avocado dip”—and so we went to the store to purchase the ingredients. Danielle insisted on paying for the ingredients, and when we got to the register, her total was over $60 because we’d bought so many other things as well. Thus, my avocado dip became known to Danielle and Weezy as “The $60 Avocado Dip.” I think it makes a much more interesting title than just plain ol’, “Avocado Dip” so I’m titling it “The $60 Avocado Dip” from here on out!

Hope these are the ones Kyla wanted! I do have a few more…my Mom’s delicious dinner rolls, etc…but these are the things that probably make our traditional Thanksgiving dinner truly ours! Hope you enjoy them!

Okay! Because I am soooo grateful for your friendship, support, and encouragement… and because we all need some extra reasons to smile today… here’s a delicious little excerpt from my new book One Classic Latin Lover, Please! It’s one of my favorite scenes, and I promise it will be shipping soon and available in e-book form asap, to lend some beauty, home, smiles and romance to your November days!

“Now apparently your brother has a bridal shower gift for you, Tierney,” Tierney’s mother said, snapping her attention back to the festivities at hand.

Tierney smiled as she saw Aubrey and Tiffany pushing a very large box toward her. The box was on a roller platform and was wrapped in red shiny paper and embellished with wide, black velvet ribbon and a large black velvet bow. The box looked to be about seven feet tall and four feet wide, and Tierney giggled again, wondering what Alec could have sent her.

“There’s a card with it,” Tiffany said, offering a red envelope to Tierney.

“Read it out loud,” Aubrey suggested.

Tierney’s smile broadened as she read the front of the card aloud. “A special day demands a special gift…a gift sent with loving intent. Therefore, for you on your special day, I present to you…” Tierney paused long enough to open the card and then read, “One Classic Latin Lover with a very special message. I love you, baby sister. Alec.”

As fast as she could, Tierney tore the wrapping paper on the front of the tall package to reveal a plastic handle attached to the box with the words, Pull this, written nearby.

Pulling on the handle, however, Tierney gasped as the front of the box broke away to reveal Alec’s gift—one classic Latin lover!

There inside the large box stood a man—not a cardboard cutout man but a real man. And, oh, what a man it was! Tierney’s mouth hung agape as she studied the man standing in the box. He was literally tall, dark, and incredibly, incredibly handsome! Dressed in a high-end white shirt, black tuxedo, and black bow tie, the man owned black, loosely swept back, Antonio Banderas hair that gave him both the short-cropped look of a refined gentleman and yet the “just raked my fingers through my hair” appearance of a man who could seduce a woman with simply a smile. His short, dark whisker growth was perfectly manicured—a goatee and mustache, with a not-too-thin and not-too thick beard line that followed his perfect square jaw from his goateed chin to his side burns. His eyes were dark and smoldering—the perfect complement to his Latin complexion. His cheekbones were set high, and his nose was as straight a nose as Tierney had ever seen. Broad shoulders, long legs—the man was gorgeous!

“Hello, Tierney O’Brien,” the man said, stepping from the box to stand right in front of her. His voice was low and smooth like crème brûlée and sent goose bumps popping up all over Tierney’s arms.

He was so close to her, so close she could smell the faint scent of him—of some masculine shower gel or cologne—and it was overwhelming to Tierney’s senses. She began to take a step back, but the man reached out, taking hold of her arm, pulling her close to him and into ballroom dance position.

“I hear you tango,” he said.

Tierney nodded and managed to whisper, “A little.”

The man smiled, his perfect lips perfectly accenting his perfectly white teeth. “Well, then,” he said, and from somewhere the music began.

Thanks, Linda…for reminding me that I had wanted to repost this recipe! Yikes! Hope I’m not too late for everyone to enjoy it this year! Mmmmmm! So good!

Caramel Ingredients:
1 c. Sugar
¾ c. Light Corn Syrup
1/8 t. Salt
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
¼ c. Butter
1 t. Vanilla
In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to very, very soft ball stage (for dip). Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve with sliced apples.

Caramel Apples will also require:

10 Medium Apples (Washed and dried, of course.)
10 Popsicle Sticks
Waxed Paper
Sugar
Begin by inserting Popsicle sticks into center of apples and set aside. Place a length of waxed paper on a cookie sheet, butter it and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to soft ball stage.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Working quickly, cover apples with caramel and place on buttered/sugared waxed paper.

Note: Another fabulous recipe from my mom (Patsy C. States Reed)! There are so many recipes of Mom’s that I cherish. This is definitely one of them! I have yet to taste a yummier homemade caramel dip or caramel apple!

Do you ever have moments when you just think to yourself, “Okay…I am a total dingbat!” and think that you’re really finally losing your mind? Well the other day I had one of those moments.

I had decided to take a few minutes to just relax—you know, chill out and kind of reboot, right? I don’t do this nearly often enough, and maybe that’s part of my problem. But anyway—I sat down on my office floor, reached for an old magazine I had lying around, and began to leaf through it. There was a TON of interesting stuff in the magazine, some awesome recipes and ideas for homemade gifts, right?

One little ad in one corner of one page suddenly captured my attention. It was for a booklet on little craft projects and stuff to entertain children. Wonderful, right? The little ad read: “We will send you without cost a booklet of 48 pages, illustrated in colors and black and white, telling you all about how to make a dollhouse and hundreds of other interesting and amusing things; about delightful stories, fascinating games—instructive entertainment which will keep little children busy and happy every hour of the day.”

Wow! Seriously—wow! Sounds right up my alley!

And so I thought to myself, “I should order this!” Yep—just sat there with that magazine laid open on the floor and thought, “Yeah…I really should order this little booklet.”

It probably took me ten or fifteen seconds to realize that the magazine was almost 100 years old! It was a December 1925 Modern Priscilla magazine! Ha ha! I mean, you gotta give the ad company some credit—they still hooked me after 87 years! Crazy!

I laughed out loud at myself—at how thoroughly I had become engrossed in the old magazine—enough to think I needed to actually orders something out of it! (Sigh) Yep—sometimes my brain burps like that.

So I’ve been working on redecorating one of our bedrooms. Kevin has done all the manly work (the painting, etc.) and then I get to do all the fun stuff (choose the bedding, the furniture, the lighting and stuff to hang on the walls).

Well, one day while searching for just the right things to have framed for that room, I came across a vintage postcard of “The Kiss” by Harrison Fisher. Naturally I fell in loved with it the moment I saw it! (I’m sure you can see why, right?) I purchased the postcard and it’s in the very capable and talented hands of the custom framing girls over at Michael’s.

I loved “The Kiss” so much, that I thought I might be able to find a couple more Harrison Fisher things to frame for that room (which I did). However, imagine my excitement/surprise/frustration when I found that the postcard I’d purchased featured only part of Fishers painting!

Yep! While searching around for other works by Harrison Fisher, I came across THIS image! I LOVE the entire painting best, but it is TOTALLY out of print! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The only thing I found was a black and white copy of it in an 11×7 size that cost a mint! Shucks! (Heavy sigh.)

But, fear not…for I have accepted the fact that a large, full version of The Kiss by Harrison Fisher is out of my reach. (BUT if you ever see one in good shape and at a decent price, snatch it up for me, okay?) The one the girls at Michael’s are framing for me will just have to do…for now.

Meanwhile, I procured a couple other Harrison works for that room. I managed to get hold of a copy of “Caught Napping” and “Behave”…so that gives me three images to display in that room. (You know how I am…I have to work in odd numbers when placing knick knacks around…especially 3s!) Still, I’m always on the look out for great Harrison Fisher images (postcard size or larger), so DO let me know if you find any, okay? I LOVE those vintage, romantic images!

Has anyone noticed that a lot of my books are getting new covers? (Har har!) OR that my newest book, Untethered, is way later in being released than initially anticipated? (Har har triple-har!)

Well, I figured that, along with a new random contest for this week (1st week in April! Hallelujah!), I’d do a little explaining. And we’ll start with Untethered:

Here’s what happened…stress, pressure, more stress, the Winter Blahs, and me needing to reboot! Those are some of the reasons that Untethered was delayed. I had hoped to see Untethered finished and released last autumn, but it just wasn’t flowing out of my mushy brain the way I wanted it to. I didn’t want to rush it, and I was.

I really, really, really love this book! It’s in the same genre and ‘feel’ in my soul as The Visions of Ransom Lake, Dusty Britches, Weathered Too Young, etc. and when I began to dread working on it, I knew I needed to let it go for a while. So I set it aside and waited until I thought I was back in the swing. But then I found I was still forcing it. For some reason, I just couldn’t find my rhythm with this book!

To be honest, it freaked me out quite a bit! I started thinking, “Oh no! I’m lost it! I’ve lost my groove! What if I never recover it? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” And obviously, those are not great thoughts to be having when one is writing! So I stepped back again…waited a little while, and then tried to return to writing Untethered. But, just like before, it wasn’t happening!

You see, I had the story in my mind…the whole thing! But putting it on paper seemed such a daunting task, that I just couldn’t do it! I couldn’t find my stride. And I confess, this went on for several months…which of course caused me to begin panicking…which of course kept me from being able to write…which of course stressed me out…which of course made me unable to write…which of course kept me up at night…which of course caused me to be sleep-deprived…which of course stressed me out…which of course caused me to pack on the hard-fought 10 pounds I’d managed to lose…which of course stressed me out…which of course kept me from being able to find my stride…which of course….So you’re getting the idea, right?

Well, one night, my darling super-hero husband, was trying to talk me off the ledge, so to speak, and suggested we rearrange some things to ease up my time. What he suggested, simple as it may have seemed to him, hit me like an epiphany! I felt the stress begin to swirl down the drain and immediately began to feel free, inspired and motivated. The 10 pounds was still back on, but I felt like I’d lost 50!

I went to bed that night feeling refreshed, hopeful and with some peace of mind I hadn’t had in forever! And when I woke up the next morning, I sat down at my computer, pulled up my Untethered Master Doc and decided to start to read through the book starting at the very, very beginning.

I read the copyright page, then went on to the dedication. That’s when I realized that, although I’d put in WHO I wanted to dedicate the book to, and some buzz words for what I wanted to say…I had never fully written out the dedication! Hello? You know how, that unless I have the title for a book chosen, then I can’t hit my stride? Well, it hit me in the face that the same was true for Untethered where the dedication page was concerned! I mean, does the word “Duh” mean anything to you?

I decided then and there, that if I got nothing else written that day, I needed to get that dedication in my mind and heart. So I sat there for a brief 3 minutes and wrote the simple, short dedication. WHAM!!!!! Whoomp there it was! That was all I needed! The last little piece of the puzzle to pull the trigger on the starting gun had been put in place…and as I began to reread Chapter One of Untethered, I began to find the rhythm of my stride once more!

Wow! It was like magic! As I reread the first chapter, the book as a whole began to come together again! What had once been in pieces (part of a chapter here, and part of a chatper there) began to knit together perfectly! I LOVED my book again!

Believe me…Untethered has been a hard book for me to write…for several reasons…but I LOVE it! And I’m hoping you will, too! And I’ll tell you this…the hero is one of my all-time favorites! I’d put him neck-and-neck with Ransom Lake or Mason Carlisle! THAT’S how much I love who he is and what he does! He’s an awesome kisser, too! (Just in case that helps you to favor him.)

Now, the other thing I wanted to talk to you about is the cover redesigns that have been taking place over the past few months. Though 99% of the responses Distractions Ink (or myself) has received have been wonderfully positive, understanding and supportive, I have received one or two questions as to “WHY?” the covers are changing.

The answer is simple…sort of. Way back in the olden days (2001, 2002, 2003), scenic covers were ‘in’ and I pulled a lot of weight where their concept was concerned. I even chose the cover concepts for my first four published books. However, once the “Love Notes” collection began to come out from another publisher that I’d agreed to work with, that was the end of my choices. AND that’s when I began increasingly unhappy with my covers.

The other hurdle I had to leap (and you know that I haven’t run track meets in over 30 years) was that I couldn’t get hold of the cover artist I’d always dreamed of having, Sheri Brady. I had known from day one that Sheri was who I wanted to do my covers. But she was unavailable at the time, and so I limped along with covers that were either chosen for me, or that were not what I’d dreamed Sheri Brady could do.

Then, miracles of miracles, in 2009, Sheri’s schedule finally opened up and I was able to beg her to squeeze Marcia Lynn McClure covers into her business. The timing was right, too, because I was beginning to regain control of all my titles…winning back the printing rights from another publisher, etc.

Sheri knows me VERY well, and she started off carefully easing me to a different direction with Weathered Too Young…the silhouetted cowboy image! From there, she began to empower me with the realization that I was the author of these books…and that not many author’s can choose what they want for covers…but I could.

Since the day we met in 1995, Sheri has been one of the greatest forces for helping to buoy me up and encourage me to stretch and be strong! (Kevin had been the only one who could do that up until I met her, and I’m sure he was glad to finally have an ally!) And as I finally let go of the fear of redesigning covers and the reaction readers would have, I felt liberated!

I loved the covers of those early books…11 years ago, I loved them. But times have changed, and with the advancement of e-books and the changes in reading culture, my books all needed a face-lift. I’d wanted them to have that chance FOREVER, and even though I know some of us will always cling to those old covers, the new ones inspire me!

The McCall Trilogy is a perfect example of how those three stories FINALLY have a cover I can be proud of, smile over, and sigh with contentment! I LOVE the new An Old-Fashioned Romance cover, too! And did you just nearly faint when you saw what Sheri did with The Prairie Prince and a photo of Kevin? Ahhhhhhhh! I LOVE IT!

The new cover of The Visions of Ransom Lake was probably the one that freaked me out the most while Sheri and I were working on it. I mean…HANDSOME RANSOM LAKE!!!! I wanted it to be perfectly what I envisioned! And thanks to Sheri “The Miracle Worker”, graphics design QUEEN…it is!

And that brings me to the upcoming re-release of Shackles of Honor. Yikes! I’m not sure whether it will premier this week or next week…but YIKES! The new cover is GORGEOUS, of course! But my teeth are chattering all the same! This is a nerve-wracking process, you know! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We’ll just have to wait and see what you think when it releases.

But…I suppose I’ve rambled for far too long…just judging from the length of this blog! Yuck! Sorry about that!

So let’s get down to brainless business, shall we? This week’s contest! Yippee!

So last week was the Michael’s Gift Card…and the winner is…Jessica Spafford! E-mail your snail mail address to me at [email protected], Jessica and I will get your gift card in the mail to you! (Psst…thanks to my Customer Framer Friend, Jaclyn for chiming in! I feel so special!)

As for this weeks contest…hmmm. How about…the DVD edition of Little Dorrit (starring Matthew Macfadyen!)? Yep! That’s it! Leave a comment on why you like Matthew Macfadyen, period drama movies, or anything somehow related, and you’ll be entered to win! Fun! Do you need a little video clip to whet your whistle? Ooo! Then here’s one (below)! Love it!

Since the release of the beautiful new edition of The Prairie Prince, (or should I say handsome new edition), I’ve been riddled with the question, “Did Kevin know he was going to be on the cover?” Well, the answer to that burning question is, “Of course Kevin didn’t know!” What? Do you think I’m crazy? He probably would’ve axed the idea before it was even all the way out of my mouth if I’d told him ahead of time.

Nope…poor Kevin didn’t find out that HE was the image of The Prairie Prince (as of course he always has been to me) until the moment I showed him the announcement on the website! His reaction was a mixture of horror, surprise, being flattered, embarrassment, and incredible understanding and patience toward his wife (me)!

I asked him what he would’ve done if I had asked his permission first, and he confessed he would’ve moved heaven and earth to change my mind. But now that it’s done…he understands that I love him sooooooooooooooo much and is flattered that I think of him as handsome even though he doesn’t see himself that way or as worthy to be on a book cover. (That’s part of Kevin’s charm…the fact that he doesn’t see himself the way the rest of us girls do!)

And so…there you have it! Nope…he didn’t know before hand! And YES…I LOVE the new cover! I have a ton of stories to share about all the new covers, but I’m kind of squished for time today…so I’ll save those for later!

Meanwhile…I’m soooooooo behind on my random contest stuff! The winner of the FTD Spring Bouquet Arrangement is Sally Timmons! E-mail me your address at [email protected], Sally…and I’ll get that ordered for you!

As for a new contest…hmmm…let me think. Ooo! How about this…a $25 Michael’s gift card (Michael’s the craft store, of course)! Does that sound fun? I have all my custom framing done there, and usually end up picking up a few other things! So…pop in a comment below about your crafty projects for Spring (or for any other reason) and you’ll be entered to win! My friend Jan sent me a Hobby Lobby gift card for Christmas and I used it just the other day to purchase some crafting supplies I need for a project! (Thanks, Jan!) Gift cards are so fun, right?

Well…the time has come, once again. Throughout my life, I’ve found that there comes a time (several times, in truth) that I have to stop…or be stopped. Yep. Stop. Last week I hit the wall. I’m sure everyone knows what I mean: You go along, run along, then trudge along…and one day you wake up and you’re feeling like you can’t trudge alone anymore, right?

When “the wall” jumps up in front of you and slams you in the face, the typical result (at least for me) is being knocked down and finding yourself sitting on your sitter staring up at “the wall” and thinking, “How am I going to tear this sucker down again?” Right? I know you know what I mean, so I won’t go into gory details. Suffice it to say, I needed to reboot, refind, and refresh myself!

I tried several different things over the weekend to reboot: put some things in the Goodwill box so I felt like maybe I was de-cluttering a bit, tried not to stress (and failed), tried not to obsess about weight-loss (and failed-which, I might add, resulted in a BBQ Pringles, Cinnamon Poptart and Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie incident that we won’t go in to)…and being that I was suffering with allergies and insomnia, I decided to take a dose of NyQuil on Saturday night…BIG mistake! I don’t know why I never remember how completely that stuff loops me out until it’s too late!

Anyway, nothing helped…even sniffing my Pumpkin Butter Wood Wick candle! It seemed all I could do was dwell on negative stuff…you know? And that is soooooooooooooo not me! But it was this past weekend! Until finally…my hero stepped in and carried me away!

Yesterday, Kevin finally just sat me down and pointed out that I haven’t been spending any time being ME! He explained that he knows that I’m only happy when I’m flitting around sprinkling the world with sugar, enjoying entertaining conversation and/or being silly with one of my closest friends, etc. He said he’d noticed that I’m never able to chill out anymore…that I put too much stress on my job…and when it came to that…that I needed to make sure I’m writing what my heart tells me to write (my friend Shannon confirmed the writing thing to me as well in a conversation she and I had yesterday) and not what I feel pressured to write. Kevin told me I needed to pull back…to settle my mind and reboot myself to get back to myself.

Oh, I’m a great one for telling everyone else to do exactly what Kevin was telling me to do…and I always think it’s so weird that I can never figure that out for me! And my hero was absolutely correct! I have hit the wall (again) and need to reboot!

Thus…I’m on it! I settled myself right down on the sofa and began by missing my friend Gina and wishing she was there to watch Hoarders with me! Well, she wasn’t there…so I turned on the TV to flip channels…and VOILA! Hoarders was on! A brand new episode!

You see…Gina and I love watching Hoarders…but mostly together! It’s one of our ‘things’, you know? We sit there on her couch and watch episode after episode, feeling such deep empathy for the people who have the disorder, and with her constantly reassuring me that I’m not a hoarder (even though I do tend to hold on to things like my kids’s toys, all their little school papers, etc.) Naturally, we both leave an episode feeling as if we need to go clean out our garages and stuff. But anyway…the point is…I sat down, turned on the TV to find a new Hoarders episode was on, and instantly felt like Gina was just in the next room or something! It was helpful to my rebooting! (This morning, Gina texted me and told me that snow had mangled her primroses…which she was counting on to get her through gloomy old March…and suggested that perhaps we could watch Hoarders together while we’re on the phone! What a great idea! She lifts me up, that Gina!)

After Hoarders, I came upstairs and called my friend Sheri (who you know as both my close friend, AND the incredible graphics designer that does my covers now)! She and I purged some discouragement, made some rebooting plans and giggled over a little secret surprise that we have going for YOU! That helped me, too…just to hear Sheri’s voice and some of her incredible on-liners.

Yep…I’m rebooting, refinding and refreshing myself. Though I’m not really sure I can lose 50 lbs. before the Ticket Holders Event next week…I CAN pull back, sniff my pumpkin candle, find some fun, random, and in-secret things to do for others (I did manage to hang a new hand-tuned wind chime on our neighbor’s empty wind chime hook a couple weeks ago…I left a little note with it that said, “Surprise! Have a great day!” But I haven’t done anything fun like that since.)…watch some Anne of Green Gables, start my Christmas list, and rewrite a couple of chapters in the book I’m working on to better fit my soul. And that’s what I’m doing!

I have a note sitting here on my desk that Kevin had me write: It says, “Chill Out, Be Yourself and Sprinkle Sugar”…that’s what he told me to do…and that’s what I’m going to do!

Every so often we all need to hit the wall…it’s necessary for our survival! It’s what pulls us back, settles us down, and helps to re-prioritize and realize that we are who we are for a reason. The things that make me the most happy are sprinkling sugar (i.e. thinking of others first and doing things for them to lighten their load), being myself, laughing with friends, just plain silliness, and writing to make the world a better place. So that’s what I need to do. That…and sniff my Pumpkin Butter Wood Wick candle more often through these late winter/early spring blahs I get! Right!

And so…let’s do a contest! Just for the sake of silliness! I need a good silly thing today!

The winner of the Applebee’s Gift Certificate is…Christina Taylor! E-mail me at [email protected], Christina, and I’ll get that gift certificate in the mail to you! (LOVED Christina’s random thought!)

As for this week’s contest…hmmm…we need something silly…OR at least refreshing! How about this! YES! That’s it! A Spring Bouquet Arrangement from FTD!!!! YES! That’s it! Leave a comment with the subject concerning what helps YOU to reboot, and you’ll be entered to win a Spring Bouquet Arrangement from FTD…delivered right to your door! Yes! I LOVE fresh flowers!
Meanwhile, I’m off on to take my ‘morning constitutional’…to breathe in some sunshine and fresh air!

Ever feel like your brain is just on vacation without you?! I’m totally serious!

Well, whether or not you know the feeling, today is one of those days for me. Therefore, this is what I’ve decided to jot down to go along with this week’s random contest: a list of totally random thoughts, written in order as they pop into my mind! Weird, I know…but I sort of just want to see what happens. So here goes! I now present…random thoughts as they pop into my mind and in the order they pop into my mind (WARNING: This blog may be more pathetically goofy than usual!):

1. I LOVE peacock feathers! And if they were so strongly associated with bad luck in Victorian times…then why did so many Victorians use as decor in their house?

2. How could ANYONE ever have drunk the whiskey when they knew a dead body had been stored in side the barrel with it while that guy was sneaking dead bodies in to medical students back in the 1800s?

3. I should put my new salad spoons away. They’ve been sitting on my office floor ever since I bought them in October.

4. My BFF Sandy’s birthday is two weeks from today.

5. I need to remember to pick up some printer ink while I’m out today.

6. I should mail that “Peppercorn Medley Grinders” I bought for a friend that’s still sitting on my desk after a month.

7. The Carol Burnett Show was soooooo hysterical!

8. Why did I always think the TV show “Big Bang Theory” was about a gay polygamist until Trent had me watch an episode with him the other night? (I don’t mean to offend anyone…but that’s just what popped into my head…honest.)

9. Why can’t Sue on the show “The Middle” ever catch a break?

10. Ah ha ha ha ha! I’m glad Sheri and I thought of a new meaning for the acronym ASAP yesterday! “A Sudden Ape Poop” is soooooo less stressful then “As Soon as Possible” to think about when I’m working!

And now, in reference to Random Item #10…a quote from My e-mail to Sheri yesterday…

“AND…from personal experience…I can add that Ape Poop happens, too! Especially at the old Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs when you’re a teenager and visiting the ape house with your Aunt and Cousin Dan…and your cousin Dan provokes the ape and the ape throws ape poop at your cousin but hits your aunt instead!!! Ape poop DOES happen! So considering that, let’s go with ASAP=A Sudden Ape Poop!”

Now…as for contest stuff…the winner of the Anne of Green Gables CD Audio Book is…Terri Bergman! Just e-mail me at [email protected] with your address, Terri and I’ll get your prize mailed off to you!

As for this week’s contest…how about a $25 gift certificate to Applebees!!?? I don’t know why…probably because I’m starving at the moment! So to enter, just leave a random thought of your own as your comment! Fun, huh? Let’s see what’s going through everyone else’s ‘tired of winter’ brain today!

Meanwhile, maybe I need a nap!

In late winter and early spring, my thoughts always, always turn to “Anne.” I’m serious! It may be because the first time I ever watched the Kevin Sullivan production of Anne of Green Gables was during that time of year…at a time when I was feeling really low and out of touch with myself…and I can honestly tell you that “Anne” found me!

As I watched Anne of Green Gables that year, it was like a little light began going off in my brain…like a little voice was whispering, “Oh yeah! That’s right! That’s who I am!” It was weird…the way a movie (and the the book) could put me back in touch with my core self. And weird though it may have seemed, I was soooooooo grateful for the experience and to L.M. Montgomery for writing the “Anne” books!

And so, every year at this time, I find myself longing for a little escape into “Anne”…into her world…into Avonlea…not to mention the romance between Anne and Gil! I mean, who doesn’t love Gil, right? Seriously…what a guy!

I’m not going to ramble on today the way I usually do…because if you’re an Anne of Green Gables fan, then you understand my feelings. And if you aren’t yet an Anne of Green Gables fan…rush out and become one! AND this week’s contest is one way to do that!

But first…the winner of last week’s Zorro contest is…Brynette McKinney! Brynette…e-mail your snail mail address to me at [email protected] so I can pop your Zorro DVDs in the mail to you asap!

And for this week’s contest…whether you already love Anne and Gilbert or whether you still need to hop on the bandwagon how about this…the audio (CDs) version of Anne of Green Gables!!! Yep…here’s your chance to listen to the book I love so very, very much! Just leave a comment here concerning anything “Anne”-ish and you’re entered!

I could truly write a book on why I love Anne of Green Gables! So whether or not you’ve ever read the book or seen the movies…this audio version will be a treasure! I LOVE “Anne!”