Writers for Hope Auction to Benefit RAINN

Today (Wednesday, April 1, 2015), I am once again participating in the Writer's for Hope auction, hosted by Kelly Johnson to benefit RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). 

I'm donating a query plus first chapter (or query plus full picture book manuscript) critique to one lucky winner. And there are lots of other prizes (signed books, critiques and more) for both readers and writers! Go take a look  at the list and consider bidding to help a great cause.

Want to know more? Here are links to the Auction Rules and a Comprehensive List of Auction Items. And you can find the page for my part of the auction here.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Chili Brownies

Yesterday, I posted a recipe for Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies that I created for a scene in Rachel Harris' upcoming novel THE NATURAL HISTORY OF US. The recipe was so simple that it took no time at all to make. And because Aly (the main character in Rachel's first book from this series, THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING) is a talented chef who would certainly have more than one delicious brownie recipe up her sleeve, I had to create another one just for fun.

Dark Chocolate Chile Brownies

You will need:
Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix (1 box 13x9-inch size)
3-4 large red chile pods
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. cayenne powder

Blend baking chocolate and chile pods (remove stems, but feel free to keep the seeds for a bit more of a kick ... or remove them if you want a bit less spice) in a blender or food processor. (Don't just let the blender run, or you'll get a paste. Instead, pulse it several times, until everything is broken up to a fine powder.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 10x15-inch bar pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix chocolate / chile mixture with the brownie mix and cayenne pepper, until well-incorporated.

Add remaining ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spread evenly into greased bar pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool 15-20 minutes before cutting.

Makes approximately 3 dozen brownies.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies

One of my favorite things in cooking is creating new recipes. Especially when it's at the request of a friend. So when Rachel Harris asked me yesterday to come up with a new twist on a brownie recipe for a scene in her upcoming YA novel, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF US (aka The Fine Art of Pretending #2), of course I jumped at the chance.

This cheater recipe starts with a boxed brownie mix (both because it's so much faster, and because often you can find boxed mixes on sale for much cheaper than buying all of the ingredients for a basic brownie mix), which makes me grin because the recipe is for Rachel's Fine Art of Pretending series, and what better way to celebrate than by making brownies that aren't really made from scratch but taste like you spent hours putting them together?

Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies

You will need:
1 box Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix (13x9 pan size)
1/2 c. cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. orange marmalade
optional: 1 c. dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 10x15-inch bar pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together brownie mix and cocoa powder, until cocoa is fully incorporated.

Add remaining ingredients, and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Makes approximately 35 brownies.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #6 - The Manti Temple

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. I'm not writing the stories in order, because I got behind, but I'm determined to finish by the end of March. :)

The picture from Day #6 is the LDS Temple in Manti, Utah, where we got married. I felt like this picture needed a true story to go with it, but because my wedding day is a special memory, I couldn't bring myself to share the details online as part of a semi-silly challenge. Instead, I present to you another memory, from the summer before I met my husband, when I traveled with my church youth group to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti.

The Temple's walls gleamed in the fading sunlight as the bright blue of the sky transformed into a rainbow of orange, pink, and purple. I settled into my surprisingly comfortable folding chair and took in the excited chatter of voices all around me, as hundreds of people filled the available chairs and every open space on the lawn.

My bishop leaned across the girls sitting beside me and grinned. "So, Veronica, this is where you're getting, married, huh?"

I smiled and nodded. I didn't even care that he was teasing me.

"Oh!" The woman sitting in the row of chairs in front of us turned around and clasped my hand in both of hers. "That's wonderful, dear," she gushed. "When is the big day? Are you getting nervous yet?"

I blushed and pulled my hand away, turning reluctantly away from the Temple. "Um, well..."

The bishop laughed and winked at me. "First, she has to meet someone, right Veronica?"

The lady's smile faltered, and she tilted her head slightly, her brows furrowing as a slight frown pulled down at the corners of her lips. "But didn't you just say ..." Her voice trailed off, and she stared at me, waiting for my answer.

I ran my fingers through my long, blonde hair and pulled a section of it in front of my face, like a curtain I could hide behind. "Well ..." I looked back at the Temple and took a deep breath. Then, I told her all about how I'd decided, when I was five years old and my parents brought me to see the Pageant, that I was going to get married in this gorgeous building that looked like a castle fit for a fairy tale princess. "I decided, if a guy isn't willing to make the drive to marry me here, he's not the right one for me."

The lady smiled and squeezed my hand. "When you find him," she said, "make sure you request the sealing room at the top of the tower. It's beautiful, and you'll get to see the amazing spiral staircases*."

Then, the last of the sunlight faded away, and the Temple lights illuminated. Everyone turned their attention to the pageant about to begin, and I smiled. Just as I remembered, the Temple looked like a castle. And one day, I would marry my perfect Prince there. 

I already knew which room I wanted.

*Note: The spiral staircases in the Manti Temple are not only gorgeous, but they're amazing feats of engineering - freestanding without a central support. There were some pictures of the Temple interior in the Ensign (the LDS church magazine) several years ago ... and I found a website that had those pictures.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #9 - Sparky McDuff, the Leprechaun

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. Of course, I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture before I can write the story, so I should be one day behind him ... but I'm actually more than a few days behind. (Today, I'm once again trying to play catch-up! There will be multiple stories & pictures posted throughout the day, and eventually, all of the pictures & my stories will be posted on my website.)

The picture from Day #9 was a leprechaun, complete with a rainbow and a bubble pipe. (I kind of love this, because when we were in college, I used to keep a bottle of soap bubbles in my pocket, and I would blow bubbles while I walked across campus between classes.) It took me a few days to find the leprechaun's story, but here it is, only two days late for St. Patrick's Day. :)

Sparky McDuff tucked his pot of gold beneath the sprawling roots of a giant ash tree and leaned against the trunk to wait. He filled his pipe with the finest bubble solution and blew a long puff of air, sending iridescent bubbles shimmering through the air. Now, he only needed a rainbow to seal a lucky charm into his gold. This would protect it from any would-be thieves and bandits. 

He smiled at the clear blue sky and closed puffed away happily at his pipe. At least he had picked a nice day for it. When his older brother and sister had charmed their pots of gold, they hadn't chosen as wisely. Goldie had sat for three hours in a miserable, gray drizzle before the rainbow appeared for her. And Colin had endured a torrential downpour for forty-five minutes in order to find his rainbow. They had both been soaked and miserable by the time their gold had cured. 

But Sparky was smart. He checked the weather every day for a week until he'd found the perfect day. Blue skies and sunshine were much better for rainbow-watching than overcast, drizzly skies. There wasn't even a single cloud to ruin his wait.

He waited all day, happily puffing on his pipe, but the lazy rainbow didn't appear. And when night fell, Sparky had no choice but to remain with the tree and his gold. Without the rainbow charm, any random passerby could easily snag his treasure as their own.

For days, Sparky sat under the ash tree, but although birds sang merrily in the treetops and the sun shone brightly in the clear, blue sky, not a single rainbow appeared. Finally, on the ninth day, dark clouds rolled in and covered the sun. Sparky frowned and shivered inside his coat as fat raindrops splashed on his head. All of his careful planning had been for nothing. 

Tired, cold and hungry after more than a week of waiting for a rainbow that never came, Sparky now had to endure a rainstorm as well. But just as he was about to give up and go home, the clouds parted and a brilliant ray of sun burst forth, reflecting off the lingering raindrops. And suddenly, the brightest rainbow he'd ever seen arched through the sky and settled on Sparky's pot of gold.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #3 - Darkwing Ducktales

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. Of course, I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture before I can write the story, so I should be one day behind him ... but I'm actually more than a few days behind. (Today, I'm once again trying to play catch-up! There will be multiple stories & pictures posted throughout the day, and eventually, all of the pictures & my stories will be posted on my website.)

The picture from Day #3 was especially difficult for me. Although I absolutely adore Darkwing Duck, I never watched Ducktales, and I didn't know much about the characters. I had to watch some clips on Youtube to really get a sense of the ducks' personalities. I hope I got it right!

Darkwing Ducktales

Webby carried a bag full of party supplies to the table she'd set up in the garden. "Here we are." She set the bag on the ground and began unpacking her tea pot, cups, and plates full of little cakes and sandwiches. "A perfect tea party for two." 

She finished setting the table and sat back with a smile. But her Quacky Patch doll wasn't on the chair where Webby had left her only moments ago. 

Dropping to the ground, Webby searched under the table, behind the bushes and even in the bag she had just emptied. No Quacky Patch doll. 

"Now, where did you run off to?" Webby wondered. She searched throughout the garden, the kitchen, and even in Uncle Scrooge's treasure vault. But her Quacky Patch doll was nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared next to her tea table, and from inside the cloud, a voice called out, "I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the ingrown toenail on the foot of crime. I am Darkwing Duck!"

When the smoke cleared, a duck in a purple cape and mask, with a big, floppy hat, smiled at her. Webby stomped on his foot and called to Uncle Scrooge, who came running from the airplane hanger beside the house, his goofy pilot, Launchpad McQuack trailing behind him.

"Ouch!" The caped duck hopped on one foot, rubbing his sore toes. "What did you do that for?"

"You said you were going to give me nightmares," said Webby. "What did you do with my Quacky Patch doll?"

"No, I didn't," said the duck. "I --"

"Oh, hey, Darkwing," said Launchpad. He scooped the strange duck into a giant squish hug and twirled him around. "What brings you to Duckberg?"

Darkwing grunted and flailed his arms until Launchpad finally released him. He took a giant, gasping gulp of air before he spoke. "I've tracked the Bedtime Bandit all the way from St. Canard. He's been stealing baby dolls across the midwest, the southeast, and even a small corner of the north. No doubt for strange and nefarious purposes."

He glanced around the yard, and then took off at a sprint, shooting one smoke bomb after another from his gun. "Suck gas, evildoer!" 

He pounced on a shadowy figure in the bushes beside the house and emerged moments later, coughing and hacking, but holding the shirt collar of a bedraggled villain in one hand and Webby's Quacky Patch doll in the other. He handed the doll to Webby and blushed when she wrapped her arms around his legs in a grateful hug.

"Aww, it was nothing," he said. "Just doing my job." And with a flash of smoke, he disappeared again.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #10 - The Adventures of Bug Boy

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. Of course, I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture before I can write the story, so I should be one day behind him ... but I'm actually more than a few days behind. (Today, I'm once again trying to play catch-up! There will be multiple stories & pictures posted throughout the day, and eventually, all of the pictures & my stories will be posted on my website.)

Day 10 (Bug Boy) was really fun to watch Phil draw. He started by asking our youngest daughter for a shape, and she told him to draw something with a peace symbol. This became a face in a mask, and when our next-to-youngest daughter asked "are you drawing a bug boy?" the character fully came to life.

George strapped on his power belt and his cape. The evil Exterminator was up to his old tricks again, and it was up to Bug Boy to save the day once more! He slipped his mask on and tiptoed to the door.

"And where do you think you're going, young man?" A stern voice echoed through the hall.

George gulped and turned to see Major Mom standing in the doorway, arms folded and a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"Never fear!" he announced in his bravest Bug Boy voice. "I will save the world from The Exterminator's evil schemes!"

"Not without a jacket," the Major said. "It's chilly outside, and you're just getting over a cold."

"Aww, Mom!" George sighed. "Super heroes don't wear jackets. That's why I have a cape."

The major shook her head. "No capes! It could get caught on something. Wear a jacket, or you can choose to play inside."

Bug Boy pulled on his exoskeleton armor and flame-proof gloves. His sources told him The Exterminator had a new, secret lair in the wilds beyond the back yard fence, but Bug Boy wasn't afraid. He would vanquish his foe, restore peace to the planet, and be back home by suppertime.

Facing Fears Head-On

A while back, I wrote about Living with an Expiration Date  and my determination not to let those daily "what ifs" of living with a brain tumor stop me from living my life. Usually, I'm pretty good at remembering all of the great advice I gave myself in that blog post. Usually, I can brush off the weird symptoms and ignore the strange side effects of living with a brain tumor. And most days, I'm genuinely grateful for the little daily trials that help me to remember all the major blessings that get me through.

But for the past couple of months, I've been struggling. I'm not sleeping well, my dizzy spells have increased, I'm having more muscle spasms than usual, and I've lost count of the times I've simply stopped breathing because I wasn't consciously thinking about inhaling and exhaling. These are all "red flag" symptoms that could easily be nothing (might be stress or exhaustion or even a common virus) but this particular group of symptoms was also the exact combination that finally led to the discovery of my brain tumor in the first place.

And two years after my radiation, this combination of symptoms was the reason my doctors and I decided to run another set of MRI and CT scans to see if the tumor was growing again. It was. (That's when I had my surgery.)

So even though I know it could be nothing, and even though I've dealt with each of these symptoms in a myriad of different configurations over the years, facing them all together like this sends the "what if" monster into a frenzy. Unfortunately, this time around a series of scans won't help us to see if the tumor is growing again. Because the remaining tumor is invisible to scans, so there's no way to know for sure.

I've been reminding myself daily that it's probably nothing. And I'm trying to believe that. Because it's probably the truth. And I've been hiding my fears from everyone, because I didn't want to worry anyone. And I've had so many people tell me that my optimistic outlook is an inspiration ... so it feels like I'm letting the whole world down if I'm not always "on."

So I've plastered on a happy smile and painted rainbows and bubbles across the sky. And I've tried to be the most positive, upbeat, cheerful person ever. Because that's who I am. And that's who I want to be.

Meanwhile, I've been operating in panic mode for the past three months, battling the strongest what if monsters I've ever encountered. "I need to knit enough hats and scarves and mittens to last my family throughout the rest of all eternity, because what if I'm not here next winter to make more?" "I must organize all of our family photos and kids' artwork and random bits of memorabilia into scrapbooks, because what if no one remembers that this group of fast food receipts was from the anniversary when we were too poor to go out for a nice dinner, so we bought one thing at each of six different fast food chains instead?" "I must write ALL THE BOOKS, and sell them to publishers NOW, because what if I die before I get the chance, and NO ONE REMEMBERS ME EVER???"

I even joined an anonymous online brain tumor support group, so I could talk about my fears with total strangers, carefully hiding any identifying details that might let people in my real life know that I'm worried. But I haven't been hiding the crazy as well as I thought I was, so there's been an added layer of tension in all of my relationships for the past few months, as I push people away "Because what if they start to rely on me, and then I die and leave them without that support? I need to pull away ... to make them find other people to lean on instead." (On some levels, this has totally worked. My friends and family members are turning more and more to each other for help, and they're less likely to come to me with their problems. I'm much more isolated these days than I used to be... which may not be an actual good thing.)

And yesterday, all of the fears and what-ifs and craziness came crashing down on me all at once when I had a major meltdown over something that, honestly, wasn't even worth shedding a tear about. Because in all of my crazy what-ifs, I'd made a secret deal with myself: If this one thing that I was hoping for (that actually looked like it was pretty likely) came out the way I was hoping it would, I'd have proof that God loved me enough to hold off all the scary what-ifs I keep imagining. I set this private ultimatum on something I was 98% sure would happen, because I knew it would be an easy way for me to prove to myself that all the fears and worries were baseless. All I had to do was get past this one easy hurdle, and then I could rest assured that I'm not dying and my family will be okay, and people won't forget my name by tomorrow.

But that 98% sure thing? Yeah, turns out it wasn't as certain as I thought. It didn't happen, and the whole fragile system of hope I'd built on this flimsy premise crashed all around me. And my poor friend who got caught in the middle of my meltdown had no idea how this really very tiny, almost insignificant, thing (which was actually, ironically, good news ... just not the picture of events I'd determined to be my "you're not dying" signal) set me spinning into such a severe spiral. And the more she tried to comfort me, the more those fragile barricades I'd built for myself exploded, until I was hyperventilating and she was wondering what the heck just happened.

Today is Tuesday, the day I set aside each week to worship in the Temple, to refresh my spirit and gain the strength I need to face all of the fears and worries of another week. But I had reached such an all-time low that I couldn't even make myself go inside. I sat in the parking lot, staring at the Temple through my windshield, wondering if I shouldn't just skip this week. Because I feel closer to the Holy Spirit inside the Temple than anywhere else, and that's where I always get the tough answers to my most difficult prayers. What if I asked, and He told me that yes, I am dying?

But I was already there, so I decided I might as well go inside. I took a deep breath and opened the car door ... and my phone trilled with an email from my friend, who was checking up on me after my meltdown yesterday.

So of course I had another, even bigger, meltdown.

We emailed back and forth for over an hour as I sat in the parking lot, afraid to go inside and face the Lord. And I'm pretty sure I hurt my friend's feelings many times over in the course of my meltdown ... But I couldn't rationally explain myself. Because fears like this aren't rational. And even though I knew I'd regret it later, I only wanted to lash out - to push her away, so that if I die, she won't have to be hurt.

So, in an attempt to salvage my friendship before I completely destroyed it, I stopped answering her emails. And I called my husband to let him know I was going to skip going to the Temple today and meet him for lunch instead.

He told me to go inside, and he'd see me for a late lunch afterward, whenever I was finished conversing with the Lord.

Have I mentioned that my husband is very wise?

I sat in the quiet peace of the Temple, opened a Bible to 2 Timothy and began to read. In chapter one, verse seven, it says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

As I felt the love of the Savior wrapping around me, I realized something profound.

I don't know if I'm dying. I don't know if I have five minutes left on the earth or five days or five decades. But if I did die today, it would be okay. My children are amazing and well-prepared for just about anything life throws at them. My friends won't forget me. And my husband and I have a bond that will last throughout all eternity, and not just until death do us part. And if I can feel that safe and loved in the Lord's presence, I don't have anything to fear on the other side.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't have any plans to die today. I intend to live fully each day that I'm blessed to remain on this earth. But I don't need to be afraid of the possibility. And if I die today, before I get a chance to go skydiving or to meet my favorite celebrities or finish another book or any of the other things I've been worried that I might not get to before it's too late ... well, it doesn't really matter, does it? Because that's not what life is about anyway. And death isn't really the end.

Crock Pot Gourmet Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. When I was a child, my mom always made Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast (with green milk to drink), we always wore green head-to-toe, and of course we had to have Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner. Now, I know that Green Eggs and Ham are technically more fitting on March 2nd (Dr. Seuss' birthday) than March 17th, and that you can't even find corned beef in Ireland (it's an Irish-American tradition, not an "Irish" tradition), but for me, these things make St. Patrick's Day special.

My mom always simmered her corned beef in a large stock pot on low heat on the stove, but I've discovered that the Crock Pot is perfect for cooking a melt-in-your-mouth tender brisket.

You will need (approximately):
2 lbs. baby carrots
6-8 large potaoes (washed, but with skins intact)
2-3 onions
1 corned beef brisket (flat cut has a better flavor and texture than point cut - it's worth the extra cost!)
1-2 heads green cabbage

Cut the onions and potatoes in quarters, and place together with the baby carrots in the bottom of a 7-quart Crock Pot (for a smaller slow cooker, you can simply cut the recipe by a quarter, or even in half ... there are really no exact measurements here).

Place the corned beef, along with the included seasonings, on top of the vegetables.

Add about 3-4 inches of water. (When simmering on the stove, you generally fill the pot with water and boil the corned beef, but I've discovered that it's unnecessary to use so much water in the Crock Pot. You'll still get the tender texture of slow-cooked meat with much more flavor. However, if you like the broth, feel free to add more water as desired.)

Cook on low for 6-10 hours, until meat flakes apart with a fork.

In the last 45 minutes to an hour of cooking time, quarter the cabbages and place on top of the corned beef to steam lightly. (You don't want to add the cabbage too soon, as overcooked, mushy cabbage gets a bitter, unpleasant taste.) Cook just until the cabbage is slightly tender.

Serve with your favorite green drink. (We always opt for kool-aid.)

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #4 - Fox in Socks

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. Of course, I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture before I can write the story, so I should be one day behind him ... but I'm also really flighty, so I'm a few more days behind than that. (Today, I'm playing catch-up! There will be multiple stories & pictures posted throughout the day, and eventually, all of the pictures & my stories will be posted on my website.)

Day 4 was inspired by Dr. Seuss' FOX IN SOCKS, which was our son's favorite book when he was little.

"Chicks with bricks come. Chicks with blocks come. Chicks with bricks and blocks and clocks come."

– Dr. Seuss

Mr. Fox’s greatest pleasure in life was making rhymes. But grumpy Mr. Knox didn’t want to play the Fox-in-Socks Rhyme Game.

“I’ll show him how fun it can be,” thought Mr. Fox. “Everyone loves to rhyme!”

He gathered a group of chicks together and set them to work building stacks of bricks and blocks. They agreed to help, even though the three little pigs were really better builders. But when the fox tried to balance Mr. Knox on stacks of chicks and clocks, they decided that enough was enough.

“You can make a quick trick brick stack!” the chicks yelled. “You can make a quick trick block stack! Take your bricks and blocks and clocks back!”

Mr. Fox yelped and ran, ducking flying bricks and blocks and clocks. “That’s okay,” he said. “My friends Sue and Slow Joe Crow will help me teach Mr. Knox to rhyme.”

And he set off with a needle and thread to teach Sue how to sew.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #5 - The Swedish Chef

 To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. Of course, I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture before I can write the story, so I should be one day behind him ... but I'm also really flighty, so I'm a few more days behind than that. (Today, I'm playing catch-up! There will be multiple stories & pictures posted throughout the day, and eventually, all of the pictures & my stories will be posted on my website.)

Phil is taking suggestions for his art challenge, and day 5 was inspired by the suggestion to draw the Swedish Chef (from the Muppets).

Light reflected on the razor-sharp meat cleaver as he flashed it back and forth. 

Henrietta closed her eyes against the blinding light and gulped. Sweat pooled between her shoulder blades and trickled down her back. The madman crept closer, ever closer, until she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. 

This was not what she expected when she signed up to do a sketch with the Swedish Chef on The Muppet Show.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #7 - Goldipunzel

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. Of course, I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture before I can write the story, so I should be one day behind him ... but I'm also really flighty, so I'm a few more days behind than that. (Today, I'm playing catch-up! - Eventually, all of the pictures & my stories will be posted on my website, but for now, here's the story I wrote to accompany yesterday's drawing.)

Phil is taking suggestions for his art challenge, and yesterday (day 7) was inspired by the suggestion to draw "fairy tales as told by goldfish."

Goldipunzel

 

Once upon a time, a goldfish princess named Goldipunzel lived in the top of a tall tower with no doors. The princess was kind and beautiful, but she was terribly lonely. Her only visitor each day was the old hermit crab witch who had imprisoned her in the tower when she was only a guppy.
 

Every day, the old crab would come to the base of the tower and call “Goldipunzel, Goldipunzel, let down your hair!”
 

The princess would shake her head and sigh. “Goldfish don’t have hair, mother.” Then, she would lower a fishing line and hook out the window and pull the witch up to visit her.
 

One day, a handsome goldfish prince swimming through the seaweed forest heard Goldipunzel singing. He stopped at the base of the tower and gazed up at her, mesmerized by her beauty. Before long, Goldipunzel realized that she had an audience and stopped her song.
 

“Hello,” she called. “Are you here to visit me? I’m terribly lonely here in my high tower, and I welcome your company, sir.”
 

She lowered the hook to pull the prince up to her window.
 

“You’re kidding, right?” the prince asked, swimming to the top of the tower. “You realize that you can swim away whenever you wish, don’t you?”
 

Goldpunzel blushed and shyly reached out to take the prince’s fin. And they swam off to his castle together to live happily ever after.

Anniversary Art Challenge: Picture #2 - The Avengers of Poseidon

To celebrate our anniversary, my amazing artist husband, Phil, decided that he would do a 19-day art challenge, drawing one new picture every day for 19 days. And I thought it sounded like fun, so I jumped right on the band wagon and declared that I would write a silly, one-page story to go with each picture he creates during this challenge. I didn't post the first picture / story on my blog yesterday, because he drew a picture that perfectly fits with a picture book manuscript I'm already working on ... and I'm not sure if I want to share that story online yet. But here's a link to the adorable illustration. (Of course, because I have to wait for him to finish each day's picture, I am one day behind him. He's drawing picture number three today as I write story number two.)

Picture #2: The Avengers of Poseidon was inspired by a memory of my freshman year in college. Everyone in my dorm was supposed to go play capture the flag in the park, as a way to get to know each other and stuff ... So my friends, Will, Seth, Becca and I decided to form a third team. Armed with Super Soakers, we called ourselves The Avengers of Poseidon and ambushed everyone who tried to take the game too seriously. We made many enemies, but we also managed to convert several people to our side, and our rogue team tripled in size by the time the next capture the flag game happened. :)

I love this picture!! And here's my silly story to go with it. (I tried to capture the emotions of the real memory while making the events in my story fully my own creation... though I did steal names from actual participants!)

Adam crouched in the bushes behind Mr. Schaeffer’s tool shed. The red team’s flag flapped in the breeze on the other side of the garden, and Sheila was the only guard on watch. Piece of cake. He’d have that flag back to the blue team’s base before anyone even realized it was missing.
 
Slipping silently between the tall shrubs, Adam inched closer. He stopped at the edge of the bushes to wait for just the right moment. The three feet of open field between him and the flag might be tricky, but if he timed it right, Sheila wouldn’t even know he was there. He watched as she paced back and forth in front of the flag, counting the seconds each time she turned to survey the opposite side of the garden.
 
Ten seconds to sprint out, grab the flag and get back to the cover of the tool shed. No problem.
 
Adam took a deep breath and got set for the sprint of a lifetime. As soon as Sheila’s back was turned, he sprang forward, covering half the distance to the flag in one giant leap. Three more steps and his fingers closed around the bright, red silk.
 
And splosh! A stream of icy-cold water hit him right between the shoulder blades. He dropped the flag and turned to see Becca, Seth and Will, all with super-soakers pointed directly at him.
 
“Hey! No weapons allowed,” he said. “If you don’t tag me yourself, it doesn’t count.”
 
Becca smirked and grabbed the red flag, winding it around the blue one she already held. “Your rules mean nothing to us, mortal,” she proclaimed, and blasted Adam in the face with her super-soaker.
 
“What? Hey, who are you?” Sheila demanded. “Give us back our flags.”
 
“We are the Avengers of Poseidon!” Will declared, soaking Sheila with the entire contents of his water gun. “And we just kicked both of your butts.”

Be Yourself: Great Advice that's Too Easy to Ignore

I'm sure you've all noticed my absence from the blogosphere this year. So far in 2015, I've only published 4 blog posts, and three of those were recipes. And this after posting a set schedule for myself in October that I vowed to keep. Ooops!

I'd like to be able to say that life has simply kept me far too busy for blogging, but the honest truth is that I'm just a little rebellious. Common blogging wisdom says that you MUST post regularly, on a set schedule, or your audience won't know when and where to find you. If you have a split focus to your blog (as I do here, with book promotions, recipes and pondering on life's lessons), you MUST have a clear rotation to space the various aspects evenly, or you run the risk of losing a major part of your audience. This all makes perfect sense.

But I'm the girl who was always a full semester behind on her reading, all through college, because I couldn't bring myself to read the books that were assigned ... just because "you can't tell me what to do!" Even though I really wanted to read the books on the required reading lists, I balked as soon as they were "required." And that's what I've been doing here. By setting a schedule for what I can blog about and when, I turned my fun "just for me" blog into "work." And suddenly, I've been stomping my foot and crossing my arms and loudly declaring "You can't tell me what to do!!"

When I was in high school, I went to a Youth Conference where the keynote speaker (Michael Wilcox) told us not to get discouraged. "You can be the best carrot in the market, but if people are shopping for lettuce, they're not going to pick you. Just be patient. Eventually, someone will come looking for carrots, and they'll be happy you're there."

So as of today, I'm reclaiming my blog. I'm going to be the best darn carrot there is, and hopefully you'll all stick with me. (After all, we all need a healthy dose of beta carotene in our lives, right?)

If I have a recipe or book rave or life lesson that I want to share, I will share it ... even if I already posted one this week. And if I don't have one I'm excited about, I'll wait until I do, even if it's been three weeks. I promise, when I post something new, I'll share the links via twitter, facebook, tumblr, etc., so you'll be able to find me. But I started this blog to remind myself of the joy found in life's little trials ... and it's time I bring the joy back to the blog.

Love you all!!

Giant Valentine's Day eBook Giveaway!

It's almost Valentine's Day, and love is in the air.
And what better way to celebrate than with a boatload of fabulous books? Some of my favorite authors and I want to give you a present this Valentine's Day! Scroll down to the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post to enter one of TWO big bundles of eBooks.

There's a YA bundle:

 including TWELVE STEPS (my own debut novel), EFFORTLESS WITH YOU and BRING THE RAIN by Lizzy Charles, DON'T FALL by Rachel Schieffelbein, ROAD TO SOMEWHERE by Kelly Lynn & Jenny S. Morris, SECRET CATCH by Cassie Mae and Jessica Salyer, HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE by Tessa Marie, and FRACTION OF STONE by Kelley Lynn

... and an NA/Adult romance bundle:

THE REAL THING by Cassie Mae, EYES TURNED SKYWARD and FULL MEASURES by Rebecca Yarros, DEFYING REASON by Elizabeth Seckman, LOVE AND CUPCAKES by Susan Bishop Crispell, OVER THE OCEAN by Georgia St. Mane, and SING FOR ME by Gracie Madison


You definitely want to enter this giveaway!! I can personally recommend DON'T FALL, EFFORTLESS WITH YOU, and LOVE AND CUPCAKES, as I've read and adored each of these books. (Obviously, I also personally recommend TWELVE STEPS.) Most of the other books in these bundles have been on my personal "to read" list for a while. I'm already jealous of the lucky winners!! (I can't wait to read Lizzy Charles' newest book: BRING THE RAIN, and I've adored everything I've read so far from Cassie Mae.) 

Update!! I got to read an advance copy of BRING THE RAIN, and it was amazing! My review is on Goodreads here.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Note: Rafflecopter is a little quirky, and it kind of looks like this form is only for the YA bundle ... but if you click the little arrow under the prize information, you'll see that it's also an entry form for the NA/Adult prize package.) 

Recipe: Cheese-Filled Tater Tots

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I hate wasting kitchen space with single use appliances. So when I get a new toy for my kitchen, I have to come up with at least five new ways to use it (other than its intended use). And since my amazing friend Brenda gave me an electric cake pops maker for Christmas, I've been busily coming up with new and fun ways to use it. Today, I perfected the process for making delicious cheese filled tater tots in my cake pops maker.

You will need:

1 pound shredded potatoes

24 quarter inch cubes of cheese (any variety - you can even use vegan cheese, if you want to make these vegan-friendly!)

Nonstick cooking spray

Salt

Electric cake pops maker

In a large bowl, sprinkle a little bit of salt (and any other seasonings you desire)* onto the shredded potatoes. Microwave on high for 3 to 4 minutes, until potato shreds just start to stick together. Stir.

Allow potatoes to cool slightly. 

Take a pinch of the partially cooked potato shreds in your hand.  

Place cheese in the center. 

Press potatoes around the cheese and form into a tight ball, approximately the size of the holes in your cake pops maker. You want the balls to be big enough that they will come into contact with all of the cooking surfaces when the appliance is closed, but not so big that it's difficult to close the lid.

Place potato balls in preheated cake pops maker that is been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Close and let bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Let sit for an additional minute before removing from the cake pops maker. Serve warm.

*note: It is important to season the potatoes before forming into tater tots. The crust on the outside of the tots will keep the seasoning sprinkled on at the end from penetrating to the middle, giving you bland and flavorless tots.

Variation: omit the cheese entirely for simple, giant tater tots with essentially zero fat. (Without the cheese, these tots can fit vegan diets as well.)

This was my third attempt at making the tater tots in my cake pop maker. The first time, I tried doing it with raw shredded potatoes. They were delicious, but didn't hold together in tater tot form. Next, I tried cooking the potatoes before shredding them. They held the shape well but the texture was off. (More like crispy mashed potato balls.) It appears that the secret is shredding the potatoes first and then partially cooking them for maximum effect.

Last-Minute Superbowl Snack Recipes

It's Superbowl Sunday! 

It's the one day a year that we actually watch the commercials on TV, and everyone has loads of epic snacks to munch on. And I think, in between commercials, there's some kind of sports event going on in the background. ;)

So what snacks are you making this year? If you need some inspiration for quick and easy treats, here are a few of the things I'm making this year: Simple Stuffed Mushroom Caps, Mock Tempura Veggies, and Sweet & Sour Meatballs. The mock tempura veggies are vegetarian, though not vegan, and the meatballs and stuffed mushrooms will satisfy your carnivores! (You could easily make the mushrooms vegetarian by omitting the salami.)

Simple Stuffed Mushroom Caps

You will need:
mushrooms (as many as you want to make)
mozzarella or cheddar cheese (cut into 1/4-inch blocks - 1 per mushroom)
very thinly-sliced salami

Wash mushrooms and pull stems out of caps (set stems aside for later use). Cut a slice of salami in thirds and wrap one salami strip around a block of cheese. Place the salami-wrapped cheese into a mushroom cap. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-8 minutes, until cheese is melted and mushrooms are slightly soft.

Mock-Tempura Veggies

You will need:
asparagus spears
baby carrots
onions
mushroom stems (saved from stuffed mushrooms above)
wonton skins

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut onions into wedges and pull apart the layers. Cut baby carrots in half, lengthwise (unless they're very thin carrots). Wrap each veggie piece with a wonton skin, sealing with a bit of water. (You'll probably use a full wonton skin for each of the asparagus spears, but you'll want to cut the wonton skins in half for the mushroom stems and baby carrots. The onion pieces may need a full or half wonton wrapper, depending on how big the onions are.) Place wrapped vegetables on cookie sheet, spray with a thin coat of non-stick cooking spray, and bake for 8-10 minutes, until wonton skins are golden brown and crisp. (Depending on your oven and how many veggies you cook at once, you may need to bake them for up to 15 minutes.)

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

You will need:
1-2 lb. frozen meatballs
1 jar apricot preserves*

Place meatballs into your crock pot and stir in full jar of apricot preserves. Cook for 1.5-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low. Serve.

*Optional variation: You can use grape jelly or orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves, for a slightly different sweet-and-sour flavor.

Recipe: Better Than Spaghetti

A week ago, Peter Senftleben lamented on Twitter that he was trying to eat healthier, but a diet composed of mostly vegetables was a diet lacking in flavor. Of course, I had to jump in to assure him that many of my veggie-centric meals were not only delicious, but they were actually favorites for my carnivorous family. He didn't believe me, so I posted a picture of our dinner that night: Spaghetti Squash with a sauce of tomatoes, mushrooms and red bell peppers. (Bonus! This recipe is not only vegetarian, it's vegan friendly and gluten-free. And according to the recipe builder function on the fitness app on my phone, a giant serving of this dish comes in at less than 300 calories!) As promised, I'm sharing this recipe here today.

You will need:
1 large spaghetti squash
2 large red bell peppers, diced
8 oz. mushrooms, diced
1 (15oz.) can diced tomatoes
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
2-4 Tbsp. olive oil
1-2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Cut spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Place, cut side down, on a plate with a half-inch or so of water on it, and microwave on high for approximately 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large wok, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic. Sautee mushrooms in the garlic-infused oil. Add peppers and continue to cook until peppers are slightly soft (but not mushy!) (If vegetables begin to stick, you can drizzle in a bit more olive oil. Don't overdo it, though, or your healthy dinner won't be nearly as healthy!

Remove flesh from cooked squash (it will separate into strands resembling spaghetti noodles), and stir into the mushroom/pepper mixture. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Stir in one can of diced tomatoes (including the liquid) and continue to cook until it's all warmed through.

Serve. (We were super-hungry, so I divided the entire dish into five ginormous servings ... and at less than 300 calories, I didn't even have to feel guilty about the massive portion size. But for a normal dinner, this can easily make 8-10 servings.)

You can sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired (which would make it no longer a vegan meal), but it's delicious as-is.

Christmas Wreath Sugar Cookies

 

When I shared a picture of my Christmas cookies on Twitter, several people asked me to share the instructions for making the Christmas wreath slice-and-bake sugar cookies. The process is actually fairly simple, and though it takes longer to prepare the cookies for baking, they actually save time, because you don't have to decorate them once they're baked!

First, start with a batch of sugar cookie dough, like my Vegan Sugar Cookies or the cookie portion from this recipe, which I've also included at the bottom of this post. (You can even try using my Gluten Free Sugar Cookie recipe.)

 

 Divide the dough into thirds, and then divide one third into two portions (one of these portions should be significantly larger than the other)

 Knead in food coloring to tint one large portion of dough green and the smallest portion red. Form the portion of dough that you pulled the small bit from into a long log.

 Roll out the green dough on a piece of waxed paper to a rectangle as long as the log of untinted dough and wide enough to wrap around the circumference.

 Wrap the green dough around the untinted dough, and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap to squeeze the dough together.

 Roll the red-tinted dough into three long, skinny ropes, as long as the dough log. (I always end up tinting more dough red than I actually need. If you do that too, you can set the excess red dough aside to bake later.) Put the red dough ropes onto the outside of the green dough and press slightly to adhere it. (Don't worry about squishing it in too much at this point. You don't want to flatten it.)

 Roll the remaining untinted dough into a large rectangle, and wrap around the green and red dough.

 Your dough log will likely be too thick at this point. (Mine had a diameter twice as big as I wanted.) You'll want to roll the dough a bit to reduce the size, but I found that it was a little awkward to handle the whole thing at once. I cut it into 4 sections and rolled each one separately to make it half as thick and twice as long.

 If you want, you can roll the log in colored sugar for an extra bit of fun. Then, slice into rounds with a sharp knife and bake as directed.

My Mom's Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. almond extract
4 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, salt and flavoring. Beat until creamy.

Stir in flour.

Wrap dough with plastic wrap (I prefer to form the dough into a flat disc, rather than a ball, to make it easier to roll out after chilling) and chill in refrigerator for 5-6 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll out dough and cut into circles. Bake on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes, just until lightly browned on the bottom, but still creamy white on top. (Don't over bake, or the cookies won't be soft!)
 

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

This soup is addictive! I made a big pot of it for my family, and it was gone within minutes, with everyone wishing they had more. Even though our bellies were full, we were all disappointed when the soup was gone. I actually made a second batch and put it in the fridge. (Everyone had soup for breakfast the next morning!) Now, every time I start chopping up carrots, my kids come running to ask "Are you making that delicious soup again??"

Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

For 12 large bowls full, you will need:
1/2 lb. carrots, chopped
1/2 c. dried, diced onions
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 c. cooked, diced chicken
2 (10.5oz) cans cream of mushroom (or cream of celery) soup
water
1 lb. fresh cheese tortellini (I used the tri-color variety)

Put chopped carrots and onions in a 5-quart pot, and add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Add chicken bouillon, garlic, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook on high 5-10 minutes, just until carrots are slightly tender. (Don't overcook! You don't want mushy carrots by the end of the process.)

Add cream soups, diced chicken, and enough water to fill the pot 2/3 full. Let simmer 10-15 minutes, to allow the flavors to develop.

Stir in pasta, and let cook 5-7 more minutes, until pasta has reached desired tenderness. Serve.