Category Archives: Uncategorized

Just to clarify…

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dscn5737.jpgHave we run out of adjectives for shampoo?
My Kiwi-Lime Squeeze has been labeled “clarifying” shampoo.
So does that mean when I’m in public, my hair will convey to others, “Yes, this hair is clean. She lathered and rinsed, but just didn’t repeat”?
Or, “Yes, this is her natural color. I would know.”
Or, “Yes, she knows it’s frizzy, she just doesn’t care enough.”
Thanks for setting that straight, shampoo. It’s about time someone came up with a shampoo that could do this for us.
What are your thoughts on what “clarifying shampoo” might mean?

There was a Time by Andrew Reynolds

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There Was a Time

 

Long-time blog buddy, Andrew Reynolds has fulfilled his dream of publishing an anthology of poetry reflecting on his own cancer diagnosis and the illness and passing of his mother to the disease.

Andrew’s use of the written word makes you see what he sees and feel what he feels.

His writing is so beautiful it hurts. I recommend you buy his book today.

Here’s what a mutual (former blogging) friend, Carrie, wrote in her Amazon review:

I opened up this book with the intention of reading a few poems from it each day, which, as someone who doesn’t read much poetry, is often how I approach it, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. In this collection of poems, Reynolds chronicles the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions that accompany a diagnosis of cancer, its treatment and recovery, and its psychological toll. Part of my eagerness to devour these poems was my background as a physician–it’s always thought-provoking to read about a patient’s experiences–but most of it stemmed from the beauty and rawness of the author’s words.

In his opening poem, he writes:
“And listen to a song of a simple man
Thrown hard at sea and
Cast adrift in unknown lands–”

From there, the reader experiences what it was like to receive the diagnosis of prostate cancer, the fear and unknown that accompanies its treatment, recovery, and ultimately survival, which comes with its own set of complicated feelings. As the author writes:
“Sing a song
of gratitude
with just a bit of attitude.

To say I was moved by this collection is an understatement. The book would be well-placed in waiting rooms and hospital gift shops. Reynolds doesn’t sugarcoat the process, and I suspect cancer patients and their loved ones would appreciate his honesty.”

back cover

Here’s the back cover. The only thing I take issue with regarding Andrew’s bio is he forgot to mention that on his blog he also posts the occasional cat photo for his crazed fan, Betsy. Andrew, next volume, got it?

Cutest mouse on the planet

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Yet another book by a BB (blog buddy). This one comes with a contest!

Head over to Mike Allegra’s blog, like today, now even, because the contest ends tomorrow, and comment for your chance to win this most adorable book for the young  one in your life. From his blog:

It’s time to win a signed, hardcover copy of my new picture book: Scampers Thinks Like A Scientist!

Scampers Thinks Like a Scientist is the book that received a five-star review from Foreward Reviews. It’s the book that nabbed a glowing notice from the difficult-to-please Kirkus. And it’s the book that stars the cutest mouse in the history of ever.

Just look at that widdle face!

How To Enter

Keep reading to get the full scoop.

Book launch: Murder in Plane Sight by Julie Holmes

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cover-smaller-again.jpgAircraft mechanic Sierra Bauer finds a dead body in her inspection plane. Evidence pointing to Sierra causes Detective Quinn Moore to peg her as a suspect despite his attraction to her, forcing her to prove her innocence. She and Quinn must expose a network of money and deceit threatening the aviation world before Sierra becomes the next victim.

Short Excerpt: Headlights glared in the rearview mirror. Sierra Bauer slowed, but not enough. Her car slid around the turn onto the service drive that ran past the Range Airlines maintenance hangar on the western side of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. She steered into the skid, regained control. Cursed the timing of the snow. Read the rest of this entry →

Book Launch: Survival of the Fittest by Jacqui Murray

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Survival-of-the-Fittest-coverFive tribes. One leader. A treacherous journey across three continents in search of a new home.

Chased by a ruthless and powerful enemy, Xhosa flees with her People, leaving behind a certain life in her African homeland to search for an unknown future. She leads her People on a grueling journey through unknown and dangerous lands by an escape path laid out years before by her father as a final desperate means to survival. She is joined by other homeless tribes–from Indonesia, China, South Africa, East Africa, and the Levant—all similarly forced by timeless events to find new lives. As they struggle to overcome treachery, lies, danger, tragedy, hidden secrets, and Nature herself, Read the rest of this entry →

Toddler vs. Teen

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One is great at sleeping, the other excels in preventing sleep. Will the toddler succeed in waking his big sister? Or will the teen continue sleeping until the little brother gets bored and leaves? Place your votes in the comments, and I’ll reveal the answer.

Dec 18

Caption this

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Here are my ideas. Vote or add your own:

  1. Spice Boy
  2. Baby Spice
  3. Spice Spice Baby

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The winner of The Great American Bake Off is… Part 2

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Now that my husband and three daughters are at a Christmas pageant, and I have the wonderful excuse of staying home with a sleeping baby boy, I can give you Part 2! (If you missed part 1, you can find it here.)

Backing up a bit, since my laughing mother kindly reminded me that I forgot this tidbit: The night before Thanksgiving, the girls and I made pumpkin bread to have for breakfast Thanksgiving morning. Baking with the girls is stressful. They are adamant about having an equal amount of tasks to do.

“You crack the egg, then I’ll put it in, and she can break it with the spoon.”

“We need one and half cups of flour, so how about we each do a half cup?”

“You hold the measuring cup while I pour and she stirs it in.”

I kid you not. And four people crowding around the counter (me to supervise) is a mess. It didn’t help that we were pushing up against bedtime, so I was trying to hurry.

With these girls, hurrying is not in their vocabulary. That preheat oven step needs to come, like, 7th next time, because the oven was ready to go looooong before the batter was in the bread pan.

To make matters worse, my thawed pre-packaged bag of mashed pumpkin wasn’t quite enough, so I had to borrow from the bag for the next day’s pie–an issue I’d sort out later, darn it, just get the bread in the oven already!

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Finally, the oven door shut and the girls were scooted off to bed, with the torturous smell of baking pumpkin bread wafting down the hallway.

The next morning, as we enjoyed our delicious bread, I searched for the bags of pumpkin I needed for my pie. They were nowhere in the fridge. I checked the counter, the sink? Nada. Read the rest of this entry →

The winner of The Great American Bake Off is…

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Not me. So very not me.

We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws. Last year I brought a pumpkin pie. In the past I’ve made the crust from scratch, but that time I decided to go store-bought.

Why do frozen pie crusts always come in packs of two?

So I made up the pie mixture with pumpkin from our jack-o-lanterns. (A friend asked, “Were they cooking pumpkins?” “Uum, no…? But they’ve always worked before.”) I poured it into the frozen crust.

Apparently you’re supposed to pre-bake the crust before you bake it as a pie?!

The inside of the pie was done, but the crust was hard and raw.

Oops.

pie

Doesn’t that look good? It probably is. Because I didn’t make it. Thanks, pixabay.

Read the rest of this entry →

This is what happens when I shop without my husband.

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I get silly and perhaps slightly whimsical with my children and buy junk like this:

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It was cute and only $2. That should’ve been my first clue. It works as well as any $2 potato peeler would, that is, not at all. But, at least it was only $2!

And also this: Read the rest of this entry →