Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Breaking The Rules

Sometimes you have to break the rules.  Right?  When a fresh layer of snow coats your street you can't just drive a boring straight line down it, can you?  I certainly can't....Each time you visit my blog I hope you leave with a smile.  Sometimes I talk about writing, sometimes I talk about your life, sometimes I talk about my life and sometimes I pretend I'm a dog...You never know what you are going to get when you click over.  If I'm worried about you I'm going to send you an email (if I have your email address), because that's who I am. 

I thought I would share with you the most popular posts on my blog this year. (Minus the three blogfests I participated in.)

5.  It's A Dog's Life (Macy's voice)
4.  My Name Is Sharon and I'm A... (writing)
3.  Feeling Down (writing, but involves Macy and peanut butter)
2.  Throwing Great Parties for Adults (not writing)
 (drum roll)
1.  SURPRISES COME IN ALL SHAPES, SIZES AND AGES...  (Writing and my friend Lenny)

I love that your favorite posts were as random as my writings were.  I'd like to thank you all for the friendships we've developed and to the ones that continue to grow.  The blogging community is truly a gift to writers and non-writers alike.  Truly a blessing! 

Have a Safe and Happy New Year! 

Monday, December 20, 2010

BE JOLLY BY GOLLY BLOGFEST

 We bought an artificial tree about twelve years ago...It ended the annual when are we going to put up the tree fight.  (LOL)  This is the tree in our family room.  This year we decided that we would focus on red and gold ornaments.  Each year we buy two special ornaments for our tree, one for Katherine (that she can take when she moves away from home) and one for Walter and me.
 This is our hearth.  We used to have stockings I cross stitched.  They weren't as nice as the store bought ones...(They're shaped a bit strange.)

This wreath is really special to me.  Last year we sponsored it for a local fund drive for our small hospital in town.  My friend Marina made it.  She knew she was making it for me.  If you look carefully, you can see it looks a lot like me...It has a cake on it, chocolate covered strawberries a workout girl, and of course a princess crown.  
 This is our dining room tree.  It's a smaller one.  It has random colored special ornaments.  If you look carefully you can see a Macy ornament on it.  :)  There are quite a few of my "teacher" ornaments on this tree.  I get a bit sentimental as I hang these ornaments...
 This is probably the most fun tree in the house.  It's our candy tree.  We have to keep it in the basement where Macy can't get to it.  (We keep a gate across the basement stairs so that the basement is a pet free zone in case we have guests.)  The reason I have a silver tree is because when I was a little girl in England my grandparents had a silver tree.  I  was sooo excited when I saw silver trees in the stores again a few years ago.  Notice the star...It's a chocolate fish.  (LOL)
Everyone has a wreath on their door...We opted for something a little different.  :-)

I don't have a photo of the food item I always make (now only for my husband), but I wanted to share it with you because it is soooo good! 

Scottish Eggs (You can make them that morning or the night before)
Boil eggs and let them cool
Take raw sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Hot) and coat the eggs
Dip the coated egg in a raw (mixed) egg
Coat in bread crumbs
Cook in oil until sausage is completely cooked.
Drain on paper towel.
Serve with spicy mustard ...an be served hot or cold....

I don't really have a favorite drink...Sorry!

I would like to take this moment to thank you for being my bloggy friends.  I feel so blessed.  You have made my year so much better.  I hope that at some point in the year I have cheered you up or said something of value to you. 

May 2011 bring you great happiness, wonderful health and may all your publishing (or other) dreams come true....Thank you for being part of my life!

Don't forget to check out all the  Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest entries...

Friday, December 10, 2010

Throwing Great Parties For Adults & One Writing Tip

The key to having a great adult party is organizing it well.  I'm a firm believer in list making.  I start list making well before the day of the actual party. 
*List one is who I'm going to invite.  (I try to invite a mix of people so that there will be an opportunity for everyone to make new friends. Don't forget to write RSVP on your invitations!)
* List two is the theme for the party and the games that could be played.  (Yes, I said games.  I believe grown ups should play games at parties.  Eating and drinking is fine, but winning prizes, eating and drinking is even better!)
* List three is what food I'm going to serve.
* List  four is the ingredients and if I'm ordering any food, when and where I'm getting it from. (I also put this info in my daytimer, so not to forget to order it and pick  it up at the right times.)
*The final list is the day of the party list.  I do that on the morning of the party...

I keep all the lists together and check things off as they are completed or purchased.
When you are inviting a mix of people I think it is helpful to have name tags.  Then there are no embarrassing, "Now what was your name, again?" moments.  I made these with scrap booking stickers and blank office name tags...simple, quick and cute. 

The day before the party I pull out all the groceries and check them off my ingredients list.  I organize them into groups. Just in case there has to be a last minute grocery store run...
 Notice the ingredients are grouped by recipes.  That will make the next day much easier.  After everything is checked off I will work on my cooking schedule.  Any foods that I can prepare the night before I will prepare and check off my list.  Then I will write down the times that I should start cooking the other items.

 The first thing (after coffee) I do on the day of the party is pull out all of my glassware.  I either dust it off or wash it depending on when its last use was.  I really like using real  dishes verses disposable ones when I entertain.  It want my friends to know they are worth the effort.  (LOL, I was up until 2 am washing dishes after this party!)  I put all the serving dishes out and put sticky notes on them saying what food item is going to be served in them.

I think there should be something that YOU do special at your house.  Something people know you will do when you host a special party.  At my house, I have a chocolate fountain.  If I have a party of more than 10 people the chocolate will be flowing....

Games are so much fun!  Do you remember when you were a kid how much fun it was to play pin the tail on the donkey?  Well it's even more fun to play games as an adult.  I'm going to share four of my favorites with you.  I planned five games for my Holiday Party, but we only got to three of them.  Always over plan!  It is better to have loved and lost rather than...sorry wrong lesson....

The first game we played was called No Holiday...As each guest arrived I let them choose a necklace.  If they said the word "holiday" they lost their necklace to the person they said it to.  At the end of the night the person with the most necklaces won a prize.

(frown) We didn't get to play this game...It is sooo much fun!  It's called I Have, Have You?  You give each person a baggie with the same number of pennies.  I have twenty five pennies each baggie (15 is not enough, I did that many at one other party).  You sit in a circle and one person starts with something they have done, everyone in group who has not done it has to give them a penny.  Then it's the next person's turn.  (ex.  I've flown in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon...)  It's a great ice breaker!

The next game we played was called Pass The Parcel.  A prize is wrapped up many times.  I think ours was wrapped eleven times.  Under each layer was a little Christmas candy and an activity like, "bark like a dog" or "stand on your hands." Someone plays music and the parcel is passed around the circle until the music stops, (like musical chairs) whoever is holding the parcel when the music stops has to open it and do the activity.  (OMGoodness this was fun!)

The last game we played was a naughty gift exchange.  Everyone drew a number.  Number one went to the tree first and chose a gift and opened it and had to show the whole group what he or she got.  Number two could either take number one's gift or chose a wrapped gift from under the tree, this went on until everyone had a gift.  There are a few rules for this game...No take backs...A gift can only be taken away three times, so who ever gets it on the third take away gets to keep it for sure...Number one gets to go back at the very end and take any one's gift she or he wants to.  This is fun for sure!  Lots of plotting with spouses and laughter...This is a great one to do after Christmas.  You can ask your guests to bring a white elephant gift (something they got that they won't use) to play this game.
(frown) We didn't get to play this one either...It's called As Much As You Need.  You pass a roll of toilet paper around the circle and  tell everyone to take as much as they need.  That's all you tell them, nothing else.  Just watch what they do.  It's good fun...some with  tear off  little squares, some will count out, some will pull off huge amounts....  When everyone has as much as they need you tell them they are to tie a bow behind their back and the best bow will win a prize.  (I always have Katherine come in the room and judge.  Everyone puts their bows on the floor and she chooses the best one.)

Now let's talk about prizes...It's so easy to get little prizes for women.  You can even go to the dollar store and buy fingernail polish, bubble bath and all kinds of little bits, but men...that's a bit harder...This was my first big party in Iowa.  There were 19 people here (9 men) .  I wanted to make sure the husbands had a good time too.  So I went to Lowe's and got manly prizes with the help of my Dad.  Plus some coffee and candy...

Other than being organized before the party another way to guarantee success is for you the host or hostess to have fun.  I had so much fun I forgot to take pictures during the party...

I hope you have a fun festive holiday season and now on to some news from the Highlights Foundation...

 A lot of children’s writers dream of the Highlights Foundation Writers
Workshop at Chautauqua. “Next year,” they promise themselves. “Next year
I’m going to Chautauqua!” Then reality sets in. The drive and talent to
support the dream are there, but the finances . . . maybe not.

Scholarships will be considered in two groups. Early applications will be accepted through December 15, 2010.
(Final scholarship deadline is February 11, 2011.)



The Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop at Chautauqua is an exceptional experience!  If you think you are interested go to the website and check it out...LOTS of people get scholarships! 

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Birthday Fun and An AWESOME Announcement...

 Everyone knows I'm a bit obsessed with CAKE...But I can't remember the last time I had a birthday CAKE.  It may have been when I was 18!  (YIKES!)  This year I've been a bit focused on CAKE...So I really wanted some for my birthday.  Doesn't it look delicious?

I also wanted fresh baked bread from Great Harvest Bread, but it's two hours away.  Have you had their bread?  It's all natural, no preservatives, and they grind the grain themselves.  My dear hubby drove twenty miles out of his way to make sure I got plenty of their awesome bread for my birthday (and beyond).

Normally, I'm not very good at my birthday, but this year I embraced it.  I celebrated!  Thanks to a lot of people.  I was overwhelmed by the emails and facebook birthday wishes I got on Monday.  I think I got close to 100!  It was something very special to me.  Thank you all soooo much!  It made me feel like you  wrapped a great big snuggly blanket around me right after you had taken it out of the dryer.  (((Hugs for everyone!)))
One of my cps, Lenny Lee was quite sneaky...He read a comment I left on Susan Fields' blog about the book HOOKED by Les Edgerton.  He even managed to get a personal signature to me in the front of the book!
   Isn't this the coolest cake, I mean card you've ever seen! 


This week, Lenny interviewed me about what makes a good cp.  If you have any additions to my responses to Lenny's questions we'd both appreciate your input.  Check out the cool Snoopy cupcake music box that Lenny sent me too...

The YUMMY carrot cake came from Village Inn.  We had never eaten at one before we moved to Iowa.  Do you have them in your state?

Now on to the announcement.............................................................
My daughter, Katherine, found out today that two of her Haikus are going to be published in Berry Blue Haiku Magazine!  This was the first time she EVER submitted anything.  We are so excited!  It should come out in the December issue.  (Thanks to everyone who congratulated her on my FB page today.  I forwarded all your comments to her email account.)

Which do you like best cake or frosting?  Have a great rest of the week!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

~~~YA WRITERS ALERT~~~ Agent Lead Webinar

(I just love this new photo of Mark!)

Last February I was fortunate enough to "meet" Literary Agent Mark McVeigh.  (Smile)  I won a skype chat/interview with him which resulted in a publication credit for me.  (Big Smile...See side bar!)  Then Mark offered his first Webinar and I was one of the lucky people he invited  to participate (waves to my cps that I met through Mark).  It was a super experience!  You can read about it here.  You can read more about Mark here and here.  I have to tell you guys that Mark is one classy guy and I am so blessed to have him as a friend.  His friendship made me realize that Literary Agents are people too.  I was  much more comfortable chatting with agents and editors at the SCBWI conference I  went to in September.  I attribute this to Mark taking me under his wing.  (Thanks Mark!  You're the best!) 

So, here's the Scoop...

NAILING YOUR FIRST CHAPTER by Mark McVeigh of The McVeigh Agency


Available Dates: Dec 11 or Jan 8
Times: 1PM or 4PM EST
Register by: 11/30 (Mark is taking late registration for the 1pm webinar on 12/11)and 12/30
Fee: $75 for YALITCHAT.ORG Tier II members or $100

Register via email: webinars@themcveighagency.com (or you can let me know and I'll forward your name and email to Mark) with NAIL YOUR FIRST CHAPTER in the subject line. In body of email please include: Full name, contact email, daytime contact phone. Please also indicate whether you are a TIER II member of YALITCHAT.ORG.

Course description: 90-minute interactive course focused on the all-important first chapter of your manuscript including: crafting a killer opening line, introducing your main character, establishing setting/ context without getting bogged down in detail, capturing your voice, and how and when to end the chapter. 60-minutes of instruction and 30-minutes of Q and A using anonymous first paragraphs from attendee WIPs.

Attendee Information: This interactive webinar has a voice component that allows attendees to speak directly to Mark and the class, as well as a chat function.

About Mark McVeigh

Former Editorial Director, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (Aladdin), Senior Editor, Dutton Children's Books, Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books

Visit The McVeigh Agency online! Or Visit The McVeigh Agency Blog!

This is a super opportunity! You don't need to be a paying Yalitchat member to take the class, but you do need to be a "free" member before you register for Mark's webinar.  Mark's doing the webinar twice in December and twice in January--$100 for a 90 minute webinar plus critique or $75 if you are a Tier II member.  It's well worth the money!

If you have any questions you can leave them in the comments or leave me your email address and I can reply personally or forward it to Mark if I can't answer the question.

Have a great rest of the week!  We're expecting snow...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

THE HATING GAME Launch Day!


Today is the day that fellow blogger Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hits the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. (Fingers, toes and eyes are crossed for you Talli!)  Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.


No Kindle? No problem...Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

Coming soon in paperback (you can pre-order in the UK). Keep up with the latest at http://www.talliroland.com/

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2,000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?
 
Good Luck, Talli!  I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of THE HATING GAME!