tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91896562416014484492024-03-13T21:04:31.370-07:00Killer Crafts & Crafty Killersthe blog of Anastasia Pollack, crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuthAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.comBlogger500125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-57624712528493752522013-04-01T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.764-07:00COOKING WITH CLORIS--OVEN FRIED CHICKEN BREASTS <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgt3hw_4vF0C1ZFCsBGk20zQKltuFFXuGs8XtqORFP-PbKcgXQlDspEwPc-o2ghksDKjS8VbQZN1IrbsLKb8fjOa_bJEaG4uVQ6RJHDPxj3rBR6nXb0mskJKJACT-BWazCZPgcK5G6nAM/s1600/4-2-13+oven+fried+chicken.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgt3hw_4vF0C1ZFCsBGk20zQKltuFFXuGs8XtqORFP-PbKcgXQlDspEwPc-o2ghksDKjS8VbQZN1IrbsLKb8fjOa_bJEaG4uVQ6RJHDPxj3rBR6nXb0mskJKJACT-BWazCZPgcK5G6nAM/s400/4-2-13+oven+fried+chicken.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><i>Who doesn’t love the taste of fried chicken? But we all know fried chicken isn’t good for us, right? Cloris has a baked chicken recipe that tastes just like fried chicken, and it’s good for you. Check it out!</i> – AP</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Oven Fried Chicken Breasts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">(serves 4)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ingredients</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">four boneless, skinless chicken breasts, split<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 cup whole wheat flour<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 eggs<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon garlic powder<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon celery salt<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon paprika<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">olive oil spray<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Spray baking sheet with olive oil. Set aside.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Place flour in a shallow pan. Place eggs in a second shallow pan, whip with fork. Stir together bread crumbs and seasonings in a third pan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dredge chicken breasts one at a time in flour, then dip in egg, then dredge in bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Repeat for all pieces of chicken breast.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-49804776967333488332013-03-31T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.774-07:00CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--FAMILY TREES <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQMR5v6OQ5jggo9nFIRptwZKK8kRSX4lBJFenmsNW1ezLrE-cH93P9oa2nQNNV3uqNykcJgT7z561JqpN9FhTYJug4pW7rtIZHVw5FR2sMwMGJqYd9QitIgDQNm6YP_raD_AOa1Xp2HU/s1600/family+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQMR5v6OQ5jggo9nFIRptwZKK8kRSX4lBJFenmsNW1ezLrE-cH93P9oa2nQNNV3uqNykcJgT7z561JqpN9FhTYJug4pW7rtIZHVw5FR2sMwMGJqYd9QitIgDQNm6YP_raD_AOa1Xp2HU/s400/family+tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Has your child ever had to make a family tree as a homework assignment? Was it a painstaking process for both of you? Ashley Kerkovich joins us today with some tips on how to approach such assignments. Even if your child doesn’t have to construct a family tree for school, this is a family project you might want to undertake on your own. Of course, you’ll want to make yours a good deal simpler than the one shown of Ludwig Herzog and his descendants. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><i>Ashley Kerkovich writes about family, history, parenting and teaching. Her best work can be found at <a href="http://www.topeducationdegrees.org/">www.topeducationdegrees.org</a></i><i>.</i>-- AP</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #262626;">How to Inspire Children to Trace Their Family Ancestry</span></b><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">Do you know where your family comes from? Perhaps you don't because you've never traced your family tree. If you do know your history from a family tree, you might wonder why it's important to have your children do their own. Well, they might find information that you didn't know about, and doing so will really give them a connection to their past. How exactly can you make children want to indulge in this hobby? Read on to find out!</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #262626;">Make It Fun</span></b><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">If you make tracing the family history sound like a homework assignment, you're not going to inspire anyone to partake in the task. Ask them exciting and engaging questions such as, "Do you know where your great-great grandmother was born?" If the answer is no, introduce a family tree as a way to find out the answers.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #262626;">Start with Basics</span></b><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">While tracing the family history back hundreds of years is possible, doing so is quite overwhelming for children. Start with the basic building blocks. Show them what a family tree looks like and then ask them to put together one with the people who they do know. This family tree would include parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and perhaps another generation back if the child knows of the relatives. Once the foundations have been laid down, parents and children can work together to learn more about their families.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #262626;">Do It Together</span></b><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">As mentioned earlier, tracing a family history is not necessarily an easy task. Work with your child to help him or her construct the family tree. Tell your child that you will use tools in which he or she is interested. For example, take book worms to the library or to a local historical site to conduct research on individuals who have lived in the area. If your child loves to play on the computer, utilize the famous Ancestry.com to find out where your relatives came from. Help children understand the process, and show them how to navigate the website. You could also search old newspapers and magazines, either online or in person, to see if a relative's name ever appeared in any of these publications.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #262626;">Inspire with Trips</span></b><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">Tell your child that there will be some trips in store if he or she can find the family history. Visit places that had meaning to your ancestors. If your ancestors came over from Russia or Mexico, you don't necessarily need to plan a trip across the world if funds and time do not allow for it. However, you could plan a trip to the town in which your ancestors lived when they first arrived in the country, or if you have German blood in you, you could head to Amish country. Another exciting tourist attraction for people interested in history is Ellis Island, the place where so many European immigrants arrived. Children can tour the facility and then look out to the Statue of Liberty. </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting a child, especially a child who is largely uninterested in history and the past, to trace the family tree is tough. However, you just need to think like your child to make this a less stressful undertaking. Know your child's interests and use those interests as tools for discovery. Offer rewards and trips for discovering more information once your child has completed some initial steps.</span></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-58451367250261436892013-03-30T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.783-07:00KILL THE WABBIT!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NPW0skdSln2lMsJNHkdkkSICobnoo1PaDMO2G6wr28U17e83VbJm636olM5Jo-yIBtYdoGsl-_kxQ-kMsHXCsxF6DxEcMs2SFxfODeFe-qzravg_MyXd51Ylg0Xs7Kh-jnLkAQiEZNg/s1600/3-31-13+kill+the+wabbit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NPW0skdSln2lMsJNHkdkkSICobnoo1PaDMO2G6wr28U17e83VbJm636olM5Jo-yIBtYdoGsl-_kxQ-kMsHXCsxF6DxEcMs2SFxfODeFe-qzravg_MyXd51Ylg0Xs7Kh-jnLkAQiEZNg/s400/3-31-13+kill+the+wabbit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A little Easter humor from the Pollack household. All I can think of is Elmer Fudd singing, "Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!" Happy Easter, everyone! -- Anastasia</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-48818936760451685012013-03-28T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.790-07:00BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR DIANA RUBINO<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJEEDNow5ka0TTuvI5tD_KlC-XwBfUT95LrhZhJt5tg4iIc_FYELhxJSJd-e18B-rlrTShDV_Cjo544WpYHNQju0yrV_JEAiEUBxr8_Ac9_Q26cCa_jEnQ6VJwt40ng1u839QxcucAgQ/s1600/3-29-13+ANecessaryEnd_DianaRubino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJEEDNow5ka0TTuvI5tD_KlC-XwBfUT95LrhZhJt5tg4iIc_FYELhxJSJd-e18B-rlrTShDV_Cjo544WpYHNQju0yrV_JEAiEUBxr8_Ac9_Q26cCa_jEnQ6VJwt40ng1u839QxcucAgQ/s320/3-29-13+ANecessaryEnd_DianaRubino.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Author Diana Rubino has a passion for history. She writes biographical novels with no fictional characters. Her latest work is </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Give Us Liberty</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, the story of Martha Washington as told by her favorite servant, her slave Oney Judge. </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Today Diana talks about her passion for Abraham Lincoln. Read more about her and her books at her <a href="http://www.DianaRubino.com/">website</a> and <a href="http://www.DianaRubinoAuthor.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.</i> – AP</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="text-underline: #003E9F;"><span style="color: #003e9f; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Chalkboard; text-decoration: none; text-underline: #003E9F; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.dianarubinoauthor.blogspot.com/"> </a></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Necessary End</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abraham Lincoln has fascinated me since I was eight years old. I don’t know what got me started, but it might’ve been a book which I still have, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 1</i>, written in 1895. When I was in 3<sup>rd</sup> grade, in the mid-60’s (which shows how long I’ve been a Lincoln nut), my teacher asked us to bring a book to school from home for Show & Tell. My mother suggested I bring this Lincoln book, which even in 1966 was in bad shape—yellowed, stiffened strips of Scotch tape barely held the covers to the spine. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the wisdom of an 8-year-old that sadly, all of us outgrow, I demurred, saying, “This old book? She’ll think we’re poor!” My mother corrected me: “No, she’ll think we’re rich. Books like this are rare.” Then she proceeded to tape it up some more. Those 47-year-old Scotch tape fragments adhere to the book’s spine and pages to this day. The teacher, Miss Cohen, was duly impressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I still treasure that book to this day, and it’s one of many on my “Lincoln shelf” which holds books about our murdered president, his wife Mary, his assassin John Wilkes Booth and his family, the “Mad Booths of Maryland” and the conspirators who faced the gallows or years of hard labor because Booth, their charismatic leader, sucked these poor impressionable souls into his insane plot. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After writing eight historicals set in England and New York City, I decided to indulge my passion for Lincoln-lore. I began researching in depth about Lincoln’s life, his presidency, his role in the Civil War, and Booth’s plans to first kidnap him, then to assassinate him. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Necessary End</b> combined two genres I’m passionate about—history and paranormal. I joined The Surratt Society, based in Maryland, and attended their conferences and tours. Through the Surratt Society, I met several Lincoln/Booth/Civil War experts. One lady I’ll never forget meeting is Marjorie “Peg” Page, who by all accounts except definitive DNA testing, is John Wilkes Booth’s great granddaughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My trips to Lincoln's home and tomb in Springfield, Illinois, Gettysburg, Ford’s Theater, and the house he died in, Petersen House, brought me close to Mr. Lincoln’s spirit. My travels also acquainted me with Booth’s brother Edwin, the most famous actor of his time, and his unconventional family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/browse?browseId=248018">A recording of Edwin’s voice reciting Shakespeare on one of Edison’s wax cylinders still exists</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My paranormal experience includes investigations at several haunted homes, restaurants and graveyards. I investigate with a group from Merrimack, NH, led by <a href="http://www.ccthehuntress.com/">CC Carole</a>. I’ve never seen a ghost, but I’ve received responses to my questions with my dowsing rods. Wishing I had my recorder with me, I made a ghost laugh at the Jumel Mansion in Harlem, New York City, (see the story and photos on my <a href="http://www.dianarubinoauthor.blogspot.com/">blog</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tragically, we’ll never hear Abraham Lincoln’s voice. But his spirit lives on. In my book, which is fiction—but we all know that novels are fictionalized truths—I gave Booth what was coming to him. He got his justice in real life, but in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Necessary End</b>, he also got the paranormal twist he deserves.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I enjoyed sticking it to him!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I paralleled the Shakespeare play <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Julius Caesar</b> in this story because in the play, Caesar was known as a tyrant to the Senators, who feared losing their power, as Booth feared losing the Confederacy. Booth always considered Lincoln the tyrant, hence his proclamation, “sic simper tyrannis” (be it ever to tyrants) when he jumped to the stage after shooting Lincoln.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caesar’s Senators, Brutus and Cassius among them, conspired to stab Caesar to death on an appointed day. Booth recruited a group of like-minded disciples to aid him in his insane plot, at first to kidnap Lincoln, then to kill him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">By day, Booth was a Confederate spy and courier, taking dangerous missions so that his beloved South could fight the North in the war that tore the nation in two. But in this story, an even darker secret plagues him</span>—<span style="color: black;">he believes he’s the reincarnation of Brutus, the man who slew the tyrant Caesar, and Booth’s destiny in this life is to murder the tyrant who’s ravaged the South—Abraham Lincoln. In obeying the spirit of Brutus, Booth devises a plot to assassinate the tyrant. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wrote the book as a paranormal instead of a straight historical novel<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>because spirituality was extremely popular in 1865 and all throughout Victorian times. Mary Lincoln was a staunch spiritualist. So stricken with grief after the deaths of her boys Willie and Eddie, she hired mediums such as Nettie Maynard to visit the White House and hold séances in attempts to contact her sons from beyond the grave. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The extent of séances, table-tapping, Ouija boards, Tarot cards, and otherworldly activities in this era fit perfectly with the story I wanted to tell. We could never enter Booth’s head, but his insane behavior begs the question: was he truly haunted by a spirit who drove him to his heinous act that changed history forever?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blurb</b>: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">When actor John Wilkes Booth, under the guise of seeking spiritual advice, visits the President's medium to gather information about Lincoln's habits in order to kidnap him, a malevolent spirit begins to haunt and torment him, driving him to the brink of insanity. A mysterious coin also appears out of nowhere, and returns every time Booth tries to discard it. Each return of the bloodthirsty Roman coin brings increasingly terrifying events and eerie hauntings. In the midst of these strange visitations, Booth falls in love with Alice Grey, a beautiful actress who's hired by the government to spy on him. She’s torn between her love for Booth and her duty to protect the President from assassination.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AX9Y6NU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AX9Y6NU&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a></span></b></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-30121800484726661562013-03-27T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.799-07:00ANASTASIA RECEIVES A SUNSHINE AWARD!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4867n_T9WSX-TbtzncYw_7uM7pAIIZzKh6Nvw1oVY7w1k2EwmBGyZzolsdpsBNE8H4wMHzEp-NtGrKDhS0vezlzORJ5HU_aNiJ1jIuoctJ5aWywwYjUqbk1RIWnusBEG2mw3ZpOUIUPY/s1600/sunshine+award2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4867n_T9WSX-TbtzncYw_7uM7pAIIZzKh6Nvw1oVY7w1k2EwmBGyZzolsdpsBNE8H4wMHzEp-NtGrKDhS0vezlzORJ5HU_aNiJ1jIuoctJ5aWywwYjUqbk1RIWnusBEG2mw3ZpOUIUPY/s320/sunshine+award2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sunshine Award is a lovely sunny flower that bloggers give to other “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other day Kath Marsh, who writes the <a href="http://kath-lettersfromearth.blogspot.com/">Letters from Earth blog</a>, bestowed a Sunshine Award on Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. Thanks so much, Kath!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with most awards, the Sunshine Award comes with a few simple rules:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1) Thank the person who gave you the award in your blog post.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2) Do the Q&A below<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(3) Pass on the award to 10-12 deserving and inspiring bloggers, inform them and link to their blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are my answers to the questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Favorite Color</b>: Black (a pear-shaped, middle-aged girl’s best friend)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Favorite Animal</b>: Ralph, the Shakespeare quoting parrot <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Favorite Number</b>: Seventeen. Don’t ask me why. For some reason seventeen always comes to mind first, like when I’m juggling seventeen things at once, which I do constantly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink</b>: Coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Did I mention coffee?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Facebook or Twitter</b>: Who has time for either? I certainly don’t. Thanks to a certain sadistic author, I’m too busy trying to dig my way out of the debt-ridden back-story she created for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Your Passion</b>: Finding ways to get out of the messes that sadistic author writes me into. (Think Lois will kill me when she reads this? No way! She’d have to come up with a brand new series.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Giving or Getting Presents</b>: Giving. Shopping for others is so much more fun than shopping for myself. At least it used to be, back before author Lois Winston yanked me out of my comfortable middle-class life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Favorite Day</b>: The day I win the lottery, which, unfortunately, hasn’t occurred yet. :-(<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Favorite Flowers</b>: All except lilacs which I’m deathly allergic to.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, these are the 10 fantastic bloggers I'm tagging for this award. Check them out:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://minichino.com/wordpress/">Camille Minichino—The Real Me</a> </span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.caridad.com/blog/">Caridad Pineiro’s blog </a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cindysamplebooks.com/">Cindy Sample’s blog </a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/">Dru’s Book Musings </a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fivescribes.blogspot.com/">Five Scribes</a> </span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/">Get Lost in a Story </a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.midnightwriters.blogspot.com/">Inkspot </a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.jillarcher.com/">Jill Archer’s blog </a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/">Lesa's Book Critiques</a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sheilaboneham.blogspot.com/">Write Here, Write Now with Sheila Boneham</a> </span></li></ul><br /><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-63081755039771818952013-03-26T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.807-07:00HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE-HOW TO BURN MORE CALORIES<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgvbAj6NX6-x4aSnlKOkr4B416kFH6s1Rj13B3foUqyfAmljt_hf8ITcUVSc0thZ_qjtdxEWG00_o8weGDEqztNe_FWOqE2og_87LSFxycBQ3OSed7mEk9W850s5HGfgwCLaT8lCZG9A/s1600/ice+water.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgvbAj6NX6-x4aSnlKOkr4B416kFH6s1Rj13B3foUqyfAmljt_hf8ITcUVSc0thZ_qjtdxEWG00_o8weGDEqztNe_FWOqE2og_87LSFxycBQ3OSed7mEk9W850s5HGfgwCLaT8lCZG9A/s400/ice+water.JPG" width="283" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">If you’re like millions of others, one of your New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight. Have you? Here’s a handy tip to help you burn more calories with very little effort. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">We’ve all heard that drinking a glass of water before each meal fills us up and helps keep us from overeating. One recent study also found that 16 ounces of water increased metabolism by 30%. But here’s where it gets really interesting—cold water increased metabolism even more. So drop a few ice cubes in that glass of water to burn, baby, burn—calories, that is.</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-46877341066048815492013-03-25T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.814-07:00COOKING WITH CLORIS - PENNE CASSEROLE<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pVTY1ToaKaR-9iybLmksZmM8vunSz23TWLrWjjprycH4Fby7CnSfEEjOpFPfPJ8BopZpZ1k2oCT0h9X1AD-1Gmaj-17p-TEOPxkDn0H8PZcHahwZq9oqGs-Zap9jYUCgVc2AvX8LsVs/s1600/penne+casserole.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pVTY1ToaKaR-9iybLmksZmM8vunSz23TWLrWjjprycH4Fby7CnSfEEjOpFPfPJ8BopZpZ1k2oCT0h9X1AD-1Gmaj-17p-TEOPxkDn0H8PZcHahwZq9oqGs-Zap9jYUCgVc2AvX8LsVs/s400/penne+casserole.JPG" width="398" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The calendar might say it's spring, but it's still feeling like winter. Casseroles are a winter staple. Here’s a recipe for a penne casserole that will fill you up without filling you out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Penne Casserole<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">serves four<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ingredients</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 lb. ground turkey<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 lg. onion, chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 cup sliced mushroom<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 cloves garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">25 oz. jar spaghetti sauce<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 cups penne<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Prepare penne according to package directions. While penne is cooking, brown onions in oil. Add mushrooms and garlic, then ground turkey, cooking until turkey is no longer pink.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pour a small amount of spaghetti sauce into a 10” x 10” casserole, coating the bottom completely. Combine the remainder of the spaghetti sauce with the turkey. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Drain cooked penne and pour into casserole dish. Spoon turkey over penne. Sprinkle cheeses over top. Back at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until cheese browns. Serve with choice of vegetable or salad.</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-67197880453808349852013-03-24T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.913-07:00CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - BEADED TRINKET BOX <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcq7h9HI3bmKrRdFVILnz5yJ3JoUjFT9TXQkPfPiAmOekXVbP8f9uSIVNKCQejzDelkuv8HQ0l2Jkq-sC4hOJgMIU7kKVgnG5FFyjhjwvPDkAKpjsnYlE8ShfWIStG_j5sM73axVSmCw/s1600/box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcq7h9HI3bmKrRdFVILnz5yJ3JoUjFT9TXQkPfPiAmOekXVbP8f9uSIVNKCQejzDelkuv8HQ0l2Jkq-sC4hOJgMIU7kKVgnG5FFyjhjwvPDkAKpjsnYlE8ShfWIStG_j5sM73axVSmCw/s400/box.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Craft this beaded box as an Easter gift for a young girl, get a jump on a Mother’s Day gift, or treat yourself to this cute box for storing tiny treasures. The sample was made with a 2-3/4” x 4-3/4” box, but you can choose any size, depending on what you want to store in it. I went with a basically monochromatic palette with a few pops of color, but this box would also look great in a combination of pastel colors or even rainbow hues.</i> -- AP</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beaded Trinket Box</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Materials</u>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Papier maché box, primer, acrylic paint in your choice of color, foam brush, piece of scrap paper at least the size of the lid dimension, pencil, assorted decorative buttons and glass seed beads in your choice of color(s), jewelry glue, fabric glue, ribbon and decorative trims<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Trace the lid onto the scrap paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Prime the box and lid. Allow to dry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Paint the box in your choice of color, applying two coats. Allow to dry between coats. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. While paint is drying, arrange the buttons on the template you’ve drawn on the paper. Play around with the buttons until you have a pleasing assemblage.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Using fabric glue, glue ribbon or lace trim around edge of lid. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Apply liberal layer of jewelry glue to top of lid. Place buttons one by one on the lid, following the template you’ve created. Sprinkle seed beads over the lid to fill in areas between buttons. Allow glue to dry for several hours before moving the lid.</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-32631425946984154512013-03-24T06:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:07.965-07:00THIS WEEK'S BOOK WINNER<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to all who stopped by Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers this week and a special thanks to our guest authors. Author Annie Adams visited us on Wednesday and offered a copy of <b>The Final Arrangement</b> to one of our readers who left a comment. The winner is Lynn Holt. Lynn, please contact me at anastasiapollack@gmail.com so that I can put you in touch with Annie.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-69704107086912294562013-03-21T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.063-07:00BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR L.J. CHARLES <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:JA;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI748RNQxQWmS-9_qRePdwj7Lc8yjx5X4ZoaxkokHm_vXk5vuw4QzhUKEWvrmZyFHWUUtTx6R5Grn8lPhdMZCcTAHyB5BNawjUWIsU__e5R-tWgWOffpUd91xWIIq2jS0GqlOunYGSPvQ/s1600/3-22-13+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI748RNQxQWmS-9_qRePdwj7Lc8yjx5X4ZoaxkokHm_vXk5vuw4QzhUKEWvrmZyFHWUUtTx6R5Grn8lPhdMZCcTAHyB5BNawjUWIsU__e5R-tWgWOffpUd91xWIIq2jS0GqlOunYGSPvQ/s400/3-22-13+.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L.J. Charles realized her dream of writing novels seven years ago and hasn't looked back. She is of mixed Irish and Italian heritage, grew up with a love of mysteries, and a soft spot for romance. It's no wonder her Everly Gray adventure series was created with mixed genres, and has two male characters in leading roles—one Italian and one Irish. Learn more about L.J. at her <a href="http://www.ljcharles.com/">website</a> and <a href="http://ljcharles.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.</i> -- AP</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Touch of Betrayal</b> is the fourth book in the Everly Gray series. Prior to this story, Everly and her significant other, Mitchell Hunt, have been featured as main characters. In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Touch of Betrayal</b> the 'other man' in Everly's life steps between them, and puts her trust in their friendship to the test. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tynan Pierce was born from black Irish stock, and has the bordering-on-black hair and azure eyes to prove it. He graces the pages of Everly's adventures with <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>a fondness for fading into invisibility, and for answering important questions with inscrutable, incomprehensible syllables. For all of his adult life, Pierce has been involved in military and special ops occupations and has honed his skills to perfection. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He has three rules for living:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Watch your back.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Silence saves lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Love hard and fast. Then long and slow.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What he hasn't done: anything domestic. Today he's breaking the mold to share his favorite bread recipe with you. Simple, fast, and suited to a man without a known address, the recipe produces a tasty loaf with only three ingredients. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1 – 12 ounce can beer (Pierce prefers a solid amber.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2 cups self-rising flour<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>3 Tablespoons sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix sugar and flour. Then pour in beer and mix lightly. It will foam up, so don’t be alarmed or try to slurp off the suds. You need ‘em in the bread! Bake at 375F in a metal pan or 350F in a glass pan for about 30 to 45 minutes. Glass tends to take the full 45 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note: Pierce has a standing offer of a passionate, er, kiss for Kelsey Browning in gratitude for teaching him how to make the bread. Readers are welcome to visit her website for more information because Tynan Pierce doesn't kiss and tell.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To learn more about Pierce, I invite you to discover the Everly Gray Adventure series. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Touch of Betrayal</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bored, restless, and ever curious, Everly Gray schedules a week off from her personal coaching business, takes her ESP fingers out of protective custody, and begins to explore the remains of her parents' property. It's time for her to track their killers and bring them to justice. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's the plan. Until one of her so-called friends (Tynan Pierce) kidnaps her for an impromptu trip to Hawaii, and she discovers the pain of betrayal. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before he married Everly, Mitchell Hunt made a bargain with the devil—and lost. When he shows up in Hawaii to make things right, danger follows him, and escalates when a rogue government agent, and a militant psychopath with her gang of minions vie for control of Everly and her healing gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">Mitch's betrayal has put Everly's life in danger and flips their relationship to the other side of romance, where there's no way back—or is there?</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BLQEJE0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00BLQEJE0&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a></span></b></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-6250673187126842862013-03-20T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.070-07:00BEAUTY WITH NICOLE - BB CREAM <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">BB Cream</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Have you discovered BB cream yet? What are you waiting for? BB cream has become a working woman’s best friend, a one-and-done product that eliminates the need for many other skin care products.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">BB is short for “blemish” or “beauty” balm. Think it’s only a tinted moisturizer? Think again. BB cream is an all-in-one skin hydrator, primer, foundation, and sunscreen. Some BB creams also contain caffeine and antioxidants that will help tighten and rejuvenate your skin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">BB creams are now available from many cosmetic manufacturers. You’re bound to find one that best suits both your skin and your budget.<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-67305350638519577672013-03-19T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.167-07:00DECORATING WITH JEANIE--GUEST AUTHOR ANNIE ADAMS <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3x_Rwj0ZB2huyHvJwc8Pv4XjRmvGCOUINkLCmKx8_5-wuDy2AVjOk2p9g5B6cmhQOnAWiij0-5qxhLt_7VGh2uFCpVEVzi9HB-Q7zAzhKlaZitMIZlOGzf2bOh2_Wc5aJG1XxveF_fic/s1600/3-20-13+THE+FINAL+ARRANGEMENT+-+Front+Cover+(for+Kobo+and+Book+Interior).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3x_Rwj0ZB2huyHvJwc8Pv4XjRmvGCOUINkLCmKx8_5-wuDy2AVjOk2p9g5B6cmhQOnAWiij0-5qxhLt_7VGh2uFCpVEVzi9HB-Q7zAzhKlaZitMIZlOGzf2bOh2_Wc5aJG1XxveF_fic/s400/3-20-13+THE+FINAL+ARRANGEMENT+-+Front+Cover+(for+Kobo+and+Book+Interior).jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Annie Adams is the author of </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Final Arrangement</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, book one in The Flower Shop Mystery series. When not writing she can be found teaching workshops to authors about the business of being a writer, or arranging flowers and delivering them in her own Zombie Delivery Van. Today Annie visits us to discuss using flowers to decorate your home. Learn more about Annie at her <a href="http://www.annieadamstheauthor.com/">website</a>.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Annie is offering either a paperback or e-copy of </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Final Arrangement<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to one of our readers who posts a comment. Please make sure you either leave an email address with your comment or check back on Sunday to see if you’re the winner. We can’t get your book to you if we have no way of contacting you.</i> -- AP</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Final Arrangement</b> is the first in The Flower Shop Mystery Series, where you will find our heroine, Quincy McKay working away in her flower shop. Following are some things she would like to pass on about using flowers in your home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flowers are beautiful, they smell nice, and they are used to mark special occasions. Too expensive to keep around the house…right?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wrong!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even a single bloom has the power to make an emotional impact in your life as soon as you see it, not to mention what the aroma can do to balance hormones and improve your overall well being. And, a single flower can cost as little as a dollar or two. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgvt_yF0dXlHsoIjXX_E4ZNgSeZhfenaryePhjdhSHIDjEH-VMrRNUNWT0MTZuV9WEmniQBgyEnvxPIGpSJ41DrFiVZMT2DMJZoT8ycy0lr2d5cR9hpm8qNRXxBOKScyKd6JMfTFadE8/s1600/3-20-13+flowers.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgvt_yF0dXlHsoIjXX_E4ZNgSeZhfenaryePhjdhSHIDjEH-VMrRNUNWT0MTZuV9WEmniQBgyEnvxPIGpSJ41DrFiVZMT2DMJZoT8ycy0lr2d5cR9hpm8qNRXxBOKScyKd6JMfTFadE8/s1600/3-20-13+flowers.png" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you know it’s been proven flowers have an impact on your emotions? At Rutgers University, a team of researchers performed a 10-month study of responses of research participants to receiving flowers. They found the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed "true" or "excited" smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -.25in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.aboutflowers.com/health-benefits-a-research/emotional-impact-of-flowers-study.html">http://www.aboutflowers.com/health-benefits-a-research/emotional-impact-of-flowers-study.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always recommend visiting your local florist to find out what’s in season and to see some fantastic ideas for what you can do with flowers. There are several economical and long lasting blooms such as alstromeria, carnations and chrysanthemums that come in hot, vibrant colors sure to warm up a gloomy winter room.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqtacinMSiVl5Oaq8iqlFsUxo5bO5EU9vuA2xz9YpOcb4S_5yHyBqZih76gXJCljqIsabdS9B1aXANnOJnhEyrBi9xELv6UGBNw2n84idii8Yled3BfPvoK7KAkyI3BoL-XwHAMbVlX0/s1600/3-20-13+flowers2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqtacinMSiVl5Oaq8iqlFsUxo5bO5EU9vuA2xz9YpOcb4S_5yHyBqZih76gXJCljqIsabdS9B1aXANnOJnhEyrBi9xELv6UGBNw2n84idii8Yled3BfPvoK7KAkyI3BoL-XwHAMbVlX0/s200/3-20-13+flowers2.png" width="150" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carnations and mums were once the lowly forgotten flowers of design, but they’ve made a big-time comeback in party design at places like the Oscars, Oprah’s parties, and more.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides using longer-lasting varieties, there are tricks to extending the life of flowers. Make sure you keep the water clean by changing it daily. If you receive a packet of flower food with your purchase, it is imperative you read the directions on the back of the packet and follow the measurements to the letter. Studies have shown that dosing flower food improperly can actually be worse for the flowers than not using any food at all. So keep the home remedies like sugar, soda pop, aspirin, pennies and whatever else you may have heard of, out of the vase. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give the stems a fresh cut just before placing them in clean water. Lastly, keep your flowers cool. This is the most important step in my opinion. Optimal temperature for flowers is generally 38-42 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of us don't have a flower cooler in our homes, so the next best place is a cool area in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijSFUNsLXllnvfzQ574qMjFstHNsBBcQOhJhHyOwEk6QDRpyJbFTThyo0hsuSZ4SSv-icAbs2rtiz8wGmG1p5OUrpIATfQsEUTNe4OMV8X8whrExZNoaNFPJjbm7EydmEmSdcBrQhhMw/s1600/3-20-13+flowers3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijSFUNsLXllnvfzQ574qMjFstHNsBBcQOhJhHyOwEk6QDRpyJbFTThyo0hsuSZ4SSv-icAbs2rtiz8wGmG1p5OUrpIATfQsEUTNe4OMV8X8whrExZNoaNFPJjbm7EydmEmSdcBrQhhMw/s1600/3-20-13+flowers3.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It only takes one flower to lift your mood and stave off the effects of depression, so stop and pick up an affordable bouquet, even if it’s from the local grocery store. Flowers are calorie-free, drug-free and guilt-free sources of happiness that don't have to break the bank.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Vulture is dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The body of Quincy McKay’s nemesis and biggest competitor in the floral business has just been discovered in a casket at the mortuary, complete with flowers on the lid.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Derrick Gibbons, aka The Vulture, stole all of Quincy’s funeral business, and now she’s on a mission to get it back. But there’s a problem—Quincy is now the main suspect in The Vulture’s murder. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">Armed with only her Zombie delivery van, good intentions, and the business card of a handsome cop named Alex, she must find the killer, save the flower shop, and keep from ending up in the next casket. If she can dodge burning bushes, the plague of a polygamist ex, and her mother's Mormon Mafia Spy Network, her life with Alex and her shop could become the perfect arrangement.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AF2HXGC/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AF2HXGC&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a></span></b></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-83313197488868858592013-03-18T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.266-07:00COOKING WITH CLORIS-BROCCOLI, CHEESE & POTATO SOUP<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAg_5uRbATxgjjoMGzZylN-hxddT9TEG4GtR_bW6gvJQdyqTuHNrbGyX_pbt56iHn1a9Y17c_CYj9ewwY5aCClYKR-AhidA6sL6XPTwn1fSaXJ6V7JwSHdQxauf7FANhf2YwOeAKuqFLQ/s1600/soup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAg_5uRbATxgjjoMGzZylN-hxddT9TEG4GtR_bW6gvJQdyqTuHNrbGyX_pbt56iHn1a9Y17c_CYj9ewwY5aCClYKR-AhidA6sL6XPTwn1fSaXJ6V7JwSHdQxauf7FANhf2YwOeAKuqFLQ/s400/soup.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How would we ever get through winter without hot, hearty soups? Serve this one with a hot loaf of French bread for a stick-to-your-ribs meal. Added bonus—because it’s made with fat-free broth and milk and low-fat cheese, you can eat as much of it as you like without packing on the calories.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Broccoli, Cheese, and Potato Soup<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 small onions<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 carrots<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 celery stalk<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cloves garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon butter<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoons flour<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 teaspoon salt<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">32 oz. fat free chicken broth<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups fat free milk<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 medium potatoes, peeled<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups frozen chopped broccoli<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 ounces low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dice onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Sauté onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in butter on low heat. Add flour and salt, stirring until smooth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cover and cook on low until potatoes are soft. Remove cover and add broccoli. Heat through.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add cheddar, stirring well until cheese melts.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-30829690283101055732013-03-17T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.364-07:00CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - EASTER EGG BUNNY <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc5HPZM8fCojXkOEzr9MFvlFpW3_rJgDG2n1lKbGi_aImlgu7aoGnTMH6Ojfl7EJMp7qKD53OBVeiYUyzkGx1q71TFNkQxnP1gU5MTA3FJQsHpFkNBeO5LstuU3_sjZpcNwC_P8W7_Yk/s1600/3-18-13+bunny.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc5HPZM8fCojXkOEzr9MFvlFpW3_rJgDG2n1lKbGi_aImlgu7aoGnTMH6Ojfl7EJMp7qKD53OBVeiYUyzkGx1q71TFNkQxnP1gU5MTA3FJQsHpFkNBeO5LstuU3_sjZpcNwC_P8W7_Yk/s400/3-18-13+bunny.JPG" width="286" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a cute little Easter bunny to add to a child’s Easter basket. Or make several and add one at each place setting for Easter dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVhOIQPAB4ieAyxnYxv885lrzTn5o3oDniCheLMwUj_bUZiuw6lC1HwS1MA5RP6V2LKhJ5_WoIdDRLv_sGtgfU9Fc6mnxnXgWE6kRFlqXcnia24hYBO477ZIMsBnRxJ2Okiv05m_tSmU/s1600/3-18-13+bunny+patterns.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVhOIQPAB4ieAyxnYxv885lrzTn5o3oDniCheLMwUj_bUZiuw6lC1HwS1MA5RP6V2LKhJ5_WoIdDRLv_sGtgfU9Fc6mnxnXgWE6kRFlqXcnia24hYBO477ZIMsBnRxJ2Okiv05m_tSmU/s320/3-18-13+bunny+patterns.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Easter Egg Bunny<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Materials</u>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2-1/2” Styrofoam® egg, scraps of pastel print calico fabrics, pinking shears, ruler, pencil or fabric marker, tacky glue and jewelry glue, foam brush, 2-1/2” white or straw doll hat, two 5mm wiggle eyes, two 5mm white pompoms, 3mm pink pompom, scraps of white and pink felt, scrap of cardboard<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Using the ruler and pencil or fabric marker, draw 3/4” squares on fabric scraps. Cut out squares with pinking shears. You’ll need approximately 30 squares to cover the egg.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Water down the tacky glue to a consistency that will be easy to spread with the foam brush. Working one fabric square at a time, glue squares to egg, overlapping edges. Cover egg completely with fabric squares. Allow to dry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Print out patterns to 1-1/2" in height. Using pattern, cut out feet from cardboard. Glue a piece of white felt to cardboard. Allow to dry. Trim felt to cardboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Using pattern, cut out two white felt ears and two pink felt ears. Glue a pink ear to a white ear. Allow to dry. Apply small amount of glue to bottom of pink ear. Fold ears in half at bottom edge. Allow to dry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Glue hat to top of egg. Glue an ear to each side of hat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Glue on eyes (using jewelry glue) and pompoms as shown in photo. Make a small bow from ribbon and glue to egg as shown.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Glue bottom of egg to feet.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-79215261116877198952013-03-14T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.462-07:00BOOK CLUB FRIDAY - GUEST AUTHOR KATHRYN J. BAIN<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1zNCqGj1laq0bh0-dnvvEPRUrAf413PHhTmLNor-qFk7QvYwtlmhyphenhyphenABGlz2MKL19VZlCWiADTTuJo4Ryv71SxYxfM1T2wJsyzik_S-TXNIAAAUWcKwOP9HiZ-uVyCpX1AG71N652sus/s1600/3-15-13+Bain_Knight+&+Day_AR+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1zNCqGj1laq0bh0-dnvvEPRUrAf413PHhTmLNor-qFk7QvYwtlmhyphenhyphenABGlz2MKL19VZlCWiADTTuJo4Ryv71SxYxfM1T2wJsyzik_S-TXNIAAAUWcKwOP9HiZ-uVyCpX1AG71N652sus/s400/3-15-13+Bain_Knight+&+Day_AR+(1).jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">To survive and pay bills, Kathryn J. Bain has worked as a paralegal for over twenty years. She began writing more than ten years ago and has since published several books. Today she joins us at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers to talk about the “What if” game. Learn more about Kathryn and her books at her <a href="http://www.kathrynjbain.com/">website</a>.</span></i> -- AP</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The “What if” Game<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a writer, I am always asked where do I come up with ideas for my stories. One of the places authors find to be a goldmine is the news. Dick Wolf of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Law & Order</i> fame was wonderful at “ripped from the headlines” stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How did he do it? He took a news story and asked “what if”. For instance, take the election back in November. Here are just a couple of “what if’s” I came up with:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What if one of the lesser known candidates won, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or no one won,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or what if a write-in candidate won?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another recent news story was the man who kidnapped and held a five year-old boy in a bunker for seven days. Thankfully, the child is now home safe. But what’s a good “what if” for that? Here are some of mine:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What if the man was the boy’s father who thought his son was being abused,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or a man who lost his son and wanted to replace him,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or an ex-boyfriend angry with the boy’s mother?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now it’s your turn. Take the news story of the thirty-three co-workers who won a one million dollar lottery ticket and give us a “what if” on it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll almost bet an idea just popped into your head. I’d love to hear what you thought up. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, now you’ll be mad at me because every time you hear a news story, you’ll be asking yourself “what if”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Knight & Day</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">A name can mean a lot. You expect a Jasper to be the CEO of a company. Name your son Phineas, well, he might get beat up a lot. However if you chose to call your daughter Trubleh (True blay), you get what you ask for.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Trubleh Lawrence makes a habit out of discovering dead bodies. When the police look to her as a suspect, she has no choice but to search for the killer. If that’s not bad enough, she has to deal with a grandmother who has visions, a co-worker who makes the Wicked Witch of the West look like Shirley Temple, and a guy who constantly reminds her that celibacy is hard when a hot male's around.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ3KZOI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AZ3KZOI&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a></span></b></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-80364548787505916822013-03-13T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.561-07:00FASHION WITH TESSA - GUEST AUTHOR TRISS STEIN <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVpIJr9uWEYJI1EO_GTXuGc3PS1c9UCZc5vNZGTfQvCRMHtGtffWgYYlvIyZwNZAXJd2Sp8vhLUKh2oPLPg2w5onkSSmjPI7cXFKBid76THpDdVNyZRcbPiKfSVQHYmcmwF_1GEss41w/s1600/3-14-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVpIJr9uWEYJI1EO_GTXuGc3PS1c9UCZc5vNZGTfQvCRMHtGtffWgYYlvIyZwNZAXJd2Sp8vhLUKh2oPLPg2w5onkSSmjPI7cXFKBid76THpDdVNyZRcbPiKfSVQHYmcmwF_1GEss41w/s400/3-14-13.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Triss Stein’s first job, as a librarian in a dozen sharply different Brooklyn communities, inspired this new series about neighborhoods and history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her small-town youth and urban adult years give her the perfect insider/outsider perspective. But wait! Isn’t today supposed to be a fashion post? Well, keep reading to learn what writing a murder mystery has to do with sewing. Learn more about Triss at her <a href="http://trissstein.com/">website</a>. </span></i>-- AP<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I am not a crafty person. I’ve kindly been invited by Anastasia (so to speak) to visit her blog anyway, but in fact, I am perhaps a black hole for craft ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My admiration for people who have those clever hands plus a good eye is endless.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I used to sew, and could make real clothes, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>looking back, I don’t think I was very good at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I realize now I was too impatient to take care of the little details along the way that add up to a professional looking garment. Plus, I don’t think I had the designer’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>eye. Sometimes the combination of fabric <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and style really worked. (I have fond memories of a ribbed cotton orange and yellow caftan with black braid. Well, what can I say? It was the 60’s) A lot of times my work came out a little …odd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I never uncovered a hidden flair for drawing or painting or pottery or quilting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just don’t have those clever hands. In fact, I am not even a very good typist.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It’s pretty pathetic. My mother knitted, and my dad could build or fix anything. He spent World War II fixing airplanes! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three of my four grandparents had worked in the garment industry and could sew with expertise, no pattern needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">What I do now is go to craft fairs for a fun weekend outing. I admire other people’s work, buy distinctive<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gifts for weddings, anniversaries and new babies and sometimes jewelry for myself. I am a sucker for beautiful textiles – that’s the sewing background, perhaps – and have a large collection of scarves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, yes, and we are running out of shelf space for the hand made pottery. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But wait. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I AM a craft person, because I write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My materials are my words instead of that hand-painted silk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My tools are my ideas, my imagination, my research. Also my word processing program. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am old enough to remember when cut and paste meant getting out the scissors and Elmer’s. Typing skills or not, word processing is a miracle.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I do a lot of rewriting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and for me, it often feels like carpentry or furniture building. I find the story by writing it, and there’s never much of a blueprint. It’s more like a sketch on a napkin. The process is similar to building a house by starting with the bathroom tiles and the curtains. Then, I have to go back and pour that foundation, get the framework up, make sure the wiring connects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the mystery game, we call it creating complex characters, building suspense, planting false leads, using subplots to misdirect the reader. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And all the time, I am putting to work the lessons I ignored when I learned to sew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baste first. Press the seams open as I go. Measure the hem length all around. Reinforce the collars and cuffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only I do it with words instead of fabric and my hands are on the keyboard instead of the cutting table and the sewing machine.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Brooklyn Bones</b>, a crime of the past comes much too close to home. Helping with renovation, Erica Donato’s teen-age daughter Chris finds a skeleton behind a wall in their crumbling Park Slope home. Erica – young widow, over-age history Ph.D candidate, mother of a teen, product of blue-collar Brooklyn – and Chris are both drawn into the mystery when they learn this was an unknown teen-age girl, hidden there within living memory. It’s dangerous research; there are people who know the whole story and will stop at nothing to make sure it stays buried forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BAY0LFY/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00BAY0LFY&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-70125639446260763132013-03-12T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.659-07:00HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE - GUEST AUTHOR PATRICE WILTON <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCN387U2wTCkixhR9MR7Va4gpYT2As8vJ-H2GGxv1aaA50tLhe8d6sGhk3sO6PApH-_o59VZVifYc48g6hUBOA_TLvoXjdSEajpUp116ImB8NIhlyBppKDcIAD8W42bZNEU2MB6rOYCo/s1600/3-13-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCN387U2wTCkixhR9MR7Va4gpYT2As8vJ-H2GGxv1aaA50tLhe8d6sGhk3sO6PApH-_o59VZVifYc48g6hUBOA_TLvoXjdSEajpUp116ImB8NIhlyBppKDcIAD8W42bZNEU2MB6rOYCo/s320/3-13-13.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Romance author Patrice Wilton is part of an exciting new venture with Amazon Montlake as one of their first debut authors in a new program. </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Hero Lies Within</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, the first book in her Returning War Hero series, will be one of the first books to be released as a “serial” Kindle book. Amazon describes this program as, “</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kindle Serials are stories published in episodes, with future episodes delivered at no additional cost.” For Patrice’s book, there are a total of seven episodes with new episodes delivered every two weeks.</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> In May the book will be available in every format, and the second of her books, </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Handle With Care</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, will start the next serial. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Today Patrice is here to tell us about programs that help returning veterans. Learn more about Patrice and her books at her <a href="http://www.patricewilton.com/">website</a>.</i> -- AP</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was during my research for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Hero Lies Within</b>, that I realized someone had beaten Jake Harrington, the hero of my story, in providing help for our homeless veterans by a good twenty years. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Faith, Hope, Love, Charity organization, and the Stand Down House, started by Roy Foster, opened their doors in May 2000. The multi-tiered program provides emergency/transitional housing and supportive services for veterans struggling with addictions, mental illness, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and physical limitations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more than twenty years, Roy Foster, once a homeless vet himself, has roamed the woods at night, and made it his mission to get every homeless vet off the street and ensure that no man is left behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since the inception of this program, more than 2000 veterans have received support and regained their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some startling facts from the Center for American Progress and the Stand Down House websites:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->One third of the homeless in American are veterans.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Between 500,000 to 800,000 veterans will be homeless for some time during the year, and 100,000 to 300,000 live in shelters or on the street, on any given night.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->968,000 veterans are living in poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->1.2 million took advantage of mental health services in recent years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->45% of our homeless vets suffer from PTSD<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->One in ten of the homeless veterans are disabled due to injuries sustained at war.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The number is increasing – more than 20,000 wounded during the Iraq and Afghanistan war.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->2 million Americans fought for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, many have repeated deployments, and the average age is 35 on their return.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Unemployment for veterans aged 18-24 was 33% compared to 15% for non vets of the same age.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 45.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 45.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The new generation of vets are suffering from PTSD and TBI-traumatic brain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>injury- which is making it harder for them to readjust to society.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was humbled during my research to discover this information, and I have the utmost respect for every man and woman in uniform that fought for our freedom so that we, as Americans, can continue to live as we do in this great country of ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information, please visit: <a href="http://www.Standown.org/">www.Standown.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Hero Lies Within<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Old secrets linger and two reunited lovers are faced with more deception and mistrust. Can their love survive a second time around?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tara Winslow is a Palm Beach news reporter, fighting not only to keep her job, but take over the nightly anchor spot. Her boss has axed her special runaway series, and wants “feel good stories”. She has only two weeks to come up with something big, or the special series will be taken over by the new anchorman who seems determined to ruin her career.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jake Harrington has returned from two tours in Iraq, and this wounded warrior is searching only for peace. Instead, he runs into Tara Winslow, the girl he once loved and wronged, through no fault of his own. Refusing his friendship, she agrees to help him search for a family friend who has gone missing since his return from Iraq. In return Tara requests upbeat, happy-ending stories about the everyday heroes he served with, the men and women who never received recognition but went above and beyond the call of duty. His memory is sketchy at best, and the only stories he remembers are the ones she doesn’t want to hear. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">Jake Harrington left her once when her life was falling apart, and now he’s back, and so are all the emotions she fought hard to expel. Can she forget his bitter betrayal, and will he forgive hers when to save her career she must betray his trust?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1D43C6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B1D43C6&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a></span></b></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-81884831812801564542013-03-11T21:30:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.758-07:00COOKING WITH CLORIS - TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhhU8MhGGm1DHKNxALr6hbwfC5DUxbf-CJzShTO6EMMeROmCmreTnAG5hHc8vapGgQBP4sPvwJDAB4t5nzuilUsav355FDJTgFd5XID2aBL9cCpjtCYTdGWkwGv2U7tnLKa11znWkmdQ/s1600/Soda_bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhhU8MhGGm1DHKNxALr6hbwfC5DUxbf-CJzShTO6EMMeROmCmreTnAG5hHc8vapGgQBP4sPvwJDAB4t5nzuilUsav355FDJTgFd5XID2aBL9cCpjtCYTdGWkwGv2U7tnLKa11znWkmdQ/s400/Soda_bread.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Heather Kennedy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You don't have to be Irish to enjoy this staple of St. Patrick's Day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traditional Irish Soda Bread <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(makes 1 loaf)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="color: #262626;">Ingredients</span></u></b><u><span style="color: #262626;">:<o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour </span><u><span style="color: #262626;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">1 teaspoon salt </span><u><span style="color: #262626;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">1 teaspoon baking soda </span><u><span style="color: #262626;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">1 -1 1/4 cup buttermilk </span><u><span style="color: #262626;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. </span><u><span style="color: #262626;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whisk together dry dry ingredients in a large bowl. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add buttermilk and knead mixture into a ball. Add a tablespoon or two more buttermilk if necessary. You want the dough moist but not so sticky. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shape the dough into a round loaf on the baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut a large X into the top of the loaf. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">Bake for 45 minutes or until the loaf turns a dark golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.</span></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-11605419038578733212013-03-11T05:38:00.000-07:002013-04-02T00:51:08.857-07:00CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - DECOUPAGED EASTER PHOTO ALBUM<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtzJc7WlsGFBw_fqXDLd91hfJPR2jzYxTbPI0Cu2rTrDzvQjQkjKVeclo9kF7am_6fBL1l92Kitw0lDukvunSfYfYsbUFKh-CAy7vevsJp6aChkWI54GhUmaMro8tpS5opYRplsa_KCs/s1600/3-11-13+Easter+album.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtzJc7WlsGFBw_fqXDLd91hfJPR2jzYxTbPI0Cu2rTrDzvQjQkjKVeclo9kF7am_6fBL1l92Kitw0lDukvunSfYfYsbUFKh-CAy7vevsJp6aChkWI54GhUmaMro8tpS5opYRplsa_KCs/s400/3-11-13+Easter+album.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Many people take family photos at Easter. Why not create an Easter album for all of those photos you’ve collected over the years? I used images from a Victorian themed calendar I’d saved. You might want to use greeting cards you’ve collected over the years. You can also download images, but if you do, be sure to use a laser printer. The ink from inkjet printers will smear when you apply the decoupage medium.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Decoupaged Easter Photo Album</span></b><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Materials</span></b><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">: photo album (any size), Easter artwork from greeting cards or calendars, craft stick (optional,) foam brush, scissors, découpage medium, tweezers (optional.) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Directions</span></b><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">:</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">1. Cut out desired images from artwork. Arrange on photo album cover.</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">2. Working one cut-out at a time and using the foam brush, apply decoupage medium to the wrong side of the artwork.</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">3. Position artwork on the album, using the tweezers to aid in placement if desired.</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">4. Eliminate wrinkles, air bubbles, and excess medium by gently pushing down on the cut-out with your fingers or the craft stick, working from the center outward. Remove any excess medium with a damp cloth.</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">5. Apply the next cut-out in the same manner. Repeat until all images are adhered to the album.</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">6. Allow decoupage to dry completely. Once dry, apply several coats of découpage medium to the entire surface, allowing each coat to dry completely before applying the next coat.</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-63274211217468354592013-03-07T21:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T00:51:08.956-07:00BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR LISA BLACK <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLELWVotXxzq6-E4MyoSPIEGzp7x5vxViW3yBxjgcYliwAILe7hKpG-Xe7ptSx-fYRHajlukQSC-FoK35EiU2uTYe3oEoSXqy-7AdL9Ck5w0-6N-M5ZkhrUk3pVzVeFfCwfWSeS37RguQ/s1600/3-8-13+blunt+cover+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLELWVotXxzq6-E4MyoSPIEGzp7x5vxViW3yBxjgcYliwAILe7hKpG-Xe7ptSx-fYRHajlukQSC-FoK35EiU2uTYe3oEoSXqy-7AdL9Ck5w0-6N-M5ZkhrUk3pVzVeFfCwfWSeS37RguQ/s400/3-8-13+blunt+cover+image.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">New York Times<i> bestselling author Lisa Black spent the five happiest years of her life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now she’s a certified latent print examiner and CSI for the Cape Coral Police Department. Lisa also writes as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B7RYIP8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B7RYIP8&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Beth Cheylan</a>. Learn more about Lisa and her books at her <a href="http://www.lisa-black.com/">website</a>.</i> -- AP</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Fun and Not-So-Fun Parts of Crime Scenes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crime scenes are the most interesting part of forensic science. You get to actually see the setting instead of individual, out-of-context pieces of evidence and picture how it all went down. And it gets you out of the bloody lab.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXQvukRlaFQSpl0-LBbo0gtWNuJBrlSEjr_kiG1Bgz9oz2vDgUdY-iQq7HHkiKchMvhHkVRwrJDb8P24_47qo8oo09D0bR4bUuV56Vkv-sUivRFTrlVnksZryNEYtaBkyDpSItTobh9w/s1600/3-8-13+city+alley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXQvukRlaFQSpl0-LBbo0gtWNuJBrlSEjr_kiG1Bgz9oz2vDgUdY-iQq7HHkiKchMvhHkVRwrJDb8P24_47qo8oo09D0bR4bUuV56Vkv-sUivRFTrlVnksZryNEYtaBkyDpSItTobh9w/s320/3-8-13+city+alley.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They’re also the biggest pain in the butt. They’re never anyplace fun like a shopping mall or a museum; they’re places that are cold, muddy, or unbelievably filthy. They’re abandoned apartments crawling with cockroaches, streets where you automatically keep your head ducked just in case anyone decides to take a shot, houses that make you </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>tsk</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and say, “I can’t believe anyone lives like this.”</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could write a book on houses. If you ever think your own place is a little messy, you should see the places I’ve seen. This crosses all ethnic, cultural, gender, psychological and economic lines. I guess some people are comfortable with clutter—imagine if you took everything out of all your closets and all your drawers, scattered it over the floor, and lived like that day in and day out—and some aren’t. This may sound like simply a pet peeve, but it actually complicates the investigation. How do you tell if something was ransacked? How do you tell what’s out of place?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3VFb1UVr-7bqKkO_Y_PRPgTmNCYlLOe2tZsMzHTgB6iXCK7U3UE1OZnGAcBABj9n_nBK_sPegxAV6M37lt2y5_1e_WXyFTJLr2DToNxOKUJBlMItzp7On7OkrUCbtyqqXP1TmC8K3Qw/s1600/3-8-13+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3VFb1UVr-7bqKkO_Y_PRPgTmNCYlLOe2tZsMzHTgB6iXCK7U3UE1OZnGAcBABj9n_nBK_sPegxAV6M37lt2y5_1e_WXyFTJLr2DToNxOKUJBlMItzp7On7OkrUCbtyqqXP1TmC8K3Qw/s320/3-8-13+house.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In short, crime scenes should be glamorous, but they’re not. For one thing you usually don’t have more than a two-minute warning; Dispatch calls, and you’re given a sketchy summary (half of which is often wrong) and an address. For another, all the work that you planned to get done that day is not done by someone else in your absence—it’s still waiting for you when you come back, and your boss doesn’t care that you had to go.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fun thing about crime scenes is that each one is different and again, it gets you out of the lab. The pain-in-the-butt thing about crime scenes is that each one is different and you can’t be positive that you’ve gotten every piece of relevant information. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you know if the matchbook sitting on the windowsill was put there by the teenage son three weeks ago or if the killer set it there while he waited for the victim? How do you know if the oversized pair of shorts on top of the laundry pile was for the victim’s ‘fat days’ or if they were left there by an irate, departing boyfriend? How do you know one of the forty thousand cards in the victim’s collection doesn’t contain the killer’s fingerprint? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Answer: you don’t. You have to collect what seems reasonable to collect and leave it at that. You can only do your best. Remember that during the exhaustive investigation of the Charles Manson murders, there was a pair of glasses left in Sharon Tate’s house that no one ever identified.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You never get <i>all</i> the answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blunt Impact</b>features forensic scientist Theresa MacLean and a series of murders surrounding a skyscraper under construction in downtown Cleveland. The first to die is young, sexy concrete worker Samantha, thrown from the 23<sup>rd</sup> floor. The only witness is her 11 year old daughter Anna, nicknamed Ghost. Ghost will stop at nothing to find her mother’s killer, and Theresa will stop at nothing to keep Ghost safe.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/072788252X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=072788252X&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20">Buy Link</a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-69554827436367435262013-03-06T21:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T00:51:09.054-07:00FASHION WITH TESSA--DEALING WITH RED WINE STAINS<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAA0joPuxly0FvC_04hIBDURbDk7eALLlRJ7pXzC2MZWKhRjQb9LEoGv3DcnPkuJsAdUaiYBdWaV373kjVkBjoOctU7tKNrswDAMxyGgFBxn4cpnjHiILCVyg4lAp40TnspsyO7Zf0fY/s1600/red+wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAA0joPuxly0FvC_04hIBDURbDk7eALLlRJ7pXzC2MZWKhRjQb9LEoGv3DcnPkuJsAdUaiYBdWaV373kjVkBjoOctU7tKNrswDAMxyGgFBxn4cpnjHiILCVyg4lAp40TnspsyO7Zf0fY/s320/red+wine.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by André Karwath</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red Wine Stains<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is your cleaning bill as large as the gross national budget of some third world nations? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next time you spill red wine on a piece of clothing, try this trick before running to the dry cleaner:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soak the area in cold water, then blot away the excess water. Sprinkle salt on the stain. Allow the garment to dry. Rinse off the salt. Repeat these steps a second time, then launder the garment as you normally would.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-45231533970944050932013-03-05T21:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T00:51:09.151-07:00MONEY MATTERS WITH SHEILA - GUEST BLOGGER VIRGINIA CUNNINGHAM<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3K0zjcIMS6p8qy2BN6uqhLMAyV-wZzT6qtnGr4x9M_UiFxkzoGVJS61YBs7hcaAPW_6s97kxen-UQHhvVqBfMw2Wsp8julMXlisBgGct6zg-WlRW8jQ-PveYMvnhadNfOsijOw09wt0/s1600/shopper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3K0zjcIMS6p8qy2BN6uqhLMAyV-wZzT6qtnGr4x9M_UiFxkzoGVJS61YBs7hcaAPW_6s97kxen-UQHhvVqBfMw2Wsp8julMXlisBgGct6zg-WlRW8jQ-PveYMvnhadNfOsijOw09wt0/s320/shopper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Today we welcome </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/100928410114281670649"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Virginia Cunningham</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, a fashion, health and beauty blogger based in Los Angeles, California. Virginia currently writes on a variety of topics from natural herbs, vitamins and supplements for </i><a href="http://www.northwestpharmacy.com/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NorthWest Pharmacy</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Today she brings us some great money saving advice with tips about shopping at thrift stores.</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="normal"><br /></div><div class="normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thrift Store Delight </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="normal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="normal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrifty shoppers leave no stone unturned and all thrift stores are fair game when it comes to optimizing the shopping dollar. Necessity has prompted many to explore thrift store shopping, but when that necessity no longer exists, many shoppers continue thrift store shopping for the sheer delight of finding bargains and vintage items that can be given a facelift for incorporating into one's lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="normal"><br /></div><div class="normal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When shopping thrift stores, there are several tips to keep in mind that will even greater maximize your shopping dollar.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="normal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2qp1yxhVOE_SVO2n1YQClzyobrkMXEgEI169El5WRMXOKYnyEMg1gvvilQhw6olwHKYt9P_7Z05G5Nk6elXx2dZJ04PsP88lmHgUPNDBnT31wfO40z5u6AxMnU2_DalVoGCp1lMRQXE/s1600/sale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2qp1yxhVOE_SVO2n1YQClzyobrkMXEgEI169El5WRMXOKYnyEMg1gvvilQhw6olwHKYt9P_7Z05G5Nk6elXx2dZJ04PsP88lmHgUPNDBnT31wfO40z5u6AxMnU2_DalVoGCp1lMRQXE/s200/sale.jpg" width="143" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1.</span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Become familiar with the thrift store discount policy. Some stores offer 20 to 50 percent discounts on different types of items on a certain day every week. They also may offer a discount for being a senior shopper. Some stores offer discounts related to holidays. Like department stores, some thrift stores will discount seasonal merchandise to create room for the upcoming season. Certain thrift stores will also sell clothing and housewares by the pound. For some thrift store shoppers, the thrill of sorting through countless bins of items adds to the thrift store hype.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="normal"><br /></div><div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Target thrift stores within a certain radius of each other. That way you're not wasting gas travelling back and forth across town. Schedule your trip early in the day and allow plenty of shopping time. You never know what types of items you'll find and when an item might get discounted. Sometimes if you see an item you really like but it appears too pricey, if you take your time browsing, by the time you get back to it, it may have been discounted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="normal"><br /></div><div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">3. </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Check out the item for wear, possible hidden flaws, ease in which to restore it. For electrical items, the thrift store will have a testing area where you can test them. Make sure you do. It's a good idea to try on garments. What looks like it may fit, might have an unusual cut that looks peculiar on you, so take time to try it on. Once the item leaves the store, that's it. All items are sold as is, no return policy. When considering household items, such as furniture, train your eye to see beyond its present condition. Sometimes under several layers of paint, is a beautiful piece of solid wood that can be stripped and refinished masterfully. For sofas and chairs, look for items that can be recovered easily. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="normal"><br /></div><div class="normal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most thrift store items can be used without having to do much to it, other than a good laundering or cleaning. If you find an item that has not been priced, don't hesitate to ask the salesperson if someone could price it for you. Many stores have a policy that if the item doesn't have a price, it can't be sold. Sometimes if you hit your visit just right, they will accommodate you. They really do want to keep the merchandise moving out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="normal"><br /></div><div class="normal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Expect the unexpected. Sometimes, and to the major thrill of the thrift store shopper, when you least expect it, you spy something you've been wanting for a while, or it's a deal simply too good to pass up. You might find the perfect vintage item that will work exceptionally well with what you've already got. Those are the trips that really make your day. You've become a bonafide thrift store shopper.</span></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-18254995219524964712013-03-04T21:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T00:51:09.250-07:00COOKING WITH CLORIS - RASPBERRY APRICOT ALMOND GRANOLA<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Raspberry Apricot Almond Granola<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ingredients</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 cups rolled oats<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 cup almond slivers<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/3 cup honey<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/3 cup brown sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/4 cup canola oil<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 teaspoon almond extract<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/4 cup dried raspberries<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/4 cup dried apricots, cut into raspberry sized pieces<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl combine oats and almonds.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Simmer honey, sugar, and oil in a saucepan until mixture thickens. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Pour over oat/almond mixture. Toss to coat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Spread mixture on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake approximately 30 minutes until mixture begins to brown. Stir every 10 minutes while baking. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Add raspberries and apricots after mixture cools.<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-87979041448379026952013-03-03T21:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T00:51:09.348-07:00CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - CROSS STITCHED CELTIC KNOT <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_Rm9_iGcdCVPzvuK2DTgBQjOxzPddy5kLo7j2UlOYkaIG8Pk9NZOw8TE1FWrf_2q8sUiIJaglkorAIgm6hz1__zoo7ebnrCHo43CzwcmWmW0zv7ZfZ_RB_RWcG1BXoz1vV9M5elwdjY/s1600/3-4-13+Blog+Celtic+knot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_Rm9_iGcdCVPzvuK2DTgBQjOxzPddy5kLo7j2UlOYkaIG8Pk9NZOw8TE1FWrf_2q8sUiIJaglkorAIgm6hz1__zoo7ebnrCHo43CzwcmWmW0zv7ZfZ_RB_RWcG1BXoz1vV9M5elwdjY/s400/3-4-13+Blog+Celtic+knot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ7uqkbVYl8NPlu4bi8ODjij5YcVt1ejZF6vkaj89HipsIWH3WRUljxY3VGDCbGal15NBL9TCek5vkiapvpliKYwW22cTsAB9YnxlT4BzWpgf4TzGp-LlQKM8Cq0DCB0iip-icNgnRoM/s1600/3-4-13+celtic+knot+color+key.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ7uqkbVYl8NPlu4bi8ODjij5YcVt1ejZF6vkaj89HipsIWH3WRUljxY3VGDCbGal15NBL9TCek5vkiapvpliKYwW22cTsAB9YnxlT4BzWpgf4TzGp-LlQKM8Cq0DCB0iip-icNgnRoM/s400/3-4-13+celtic+knot+color+key.tiff" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven’t featured a cross stitch pattern in some time. Show off your Irish pride with this quick and easy Celtic knot. The finished size when stitched on 14-ct. fabric is approximately 2-3/8” x 2-3/8”. Use two strands of floss to cross stitch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I chose three shades of blue green embroidery floss, but feel free to choose any three shades of green you like. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><u>Here are some stitching ideas</u>:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Stitch the design on a piece of perforated paper. Trim the paper to one hole from the cross stitch. Glue on a pin back.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Use waste canvas to embellish the collar of a blouse. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Stitch a row of Celtic knots on a pre-made baby bib, guest towel, sachet, bookmark, napkins, or other ready-to-stitch products available from <a href="http://www.dmc-usa.com/Products/Ready-to-Stitch.aspx?technique=Cross+Stitch">DMC/Charles Craft</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment--></span><br /> <!--EndFragment--><br /> <!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189656241601448449.post-73785536474708192722013-03-03T06:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T00:51:09.447-07:00THIS WEEK'S BOOK WINNER<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to all who stopped Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers this week and to our various guests. A special thanks to author Chrystle Fiedler who offered a copy of <b>Scent to Kill</b> to one of our readers who posted a comment. The winner is <b>petite</b>. Petite, if you haven't already contacted Chrystle, please email her at chrystle@chrystlefiedler.com to make arrangements for receiving your book.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933439209981705576noreply@blogger.com0