FREE BOOK!! TO GNOME ME IS TO LOVE ME

This is how it all started! FREE from March 17-19!

Spread the word and share the link!

To Gnome Me is to Love Me

Book one, The Goblin's Apprentice

Amazon Kindle
When Kyte Webber finds a very real garden gnome, her life will change forever. Gnomes aren't supposed to be real, are they? But Kyte's gnome is in danger of becoming the last ingredient in a witch's magical Mythical potion and she's the only one who can save him! With the full moon tonight, Kyte must save the Mythicals, destroy a witch, and get home in time for supper!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Bacardi Rum Cake

This recipe has been passed around many times. I’ve seen some rendition of it in newspapers, magazines and on blogs like this one. Bundt cakes are cakes that are formed in a ring, as if for tea-time. The pans used to make Bundt cakes can be simple to very decorative.

Okay, I had some issues embedding the pics--Sorry!

rose



simple

cathedral

  

Bacardi Rum Cake

Cake:

1 cup chopped pecans
1 18½  oz. pkg. yellow cake mix
1 3¾ oz. pkg vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
½ cup cold water
½ cup oil
½ cup dark rum (80 Proof)

Glaze:

¼ lb. butter
¼ cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup dark rum (80 Proof)

Cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert onto rimmed serving platter.  Prick top.

Glaze:

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides of cake. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is used up.

Enjoy!

FREE! Lost Leprechaun Loot

On tomorrow, Friday March 16, and Saturday March 17, I will be giving away Lost Leprechaun Loot on Amazon. So if you missed the freebie last week or you want to share this link with a friend--DO IT!

Though it isn't a St. Patrick's day story, it has leprechauns in it . . . and they aren't very nice at all! Yes, this is a Kyte Webber short story. It actually takes place between FROM WHOM THE BELL TROLLS and the unwritten and unnamed book four--all I know is that #4 involves a dragon . . . or two.

Three leprechauns need eleven-year-old Kyte Webber to find their pots-o-gold, but this adventure isn't as straight forward as it seems as the leprechauns want their gold and the reward they promised Kyte, too. They will try every trick in the book to deceive Kyte, but she has a few tricks up her sleeve and plans to beat them at their game.

Enjoy!

And come back to visit on Saturday--I'll have another surprise for those spring breakers who need reading material!

Weighty Wednesday -- Guilty Pleasures

I've lost 1.2 pounds this week, with a total weight loss of 43.6 POUNDS!

Erm, and this wasn't due to my strict adherence to the program. Oh, don't get me wrong, I did start tracking (sort of) and I did start checking off my daily healthy guidelines (at times). And a couple of days, I walked twice and that helped, but I also was naughty--very, very naughty.

As I have mentioned in the past, I will be brutally honest about my digressions. If I didn't confess all, you would simply file me as one of those people who don't have to try and the weight simply melts away.

Wrong-o!

Many times when people start this weight loss journey they refuse to acknowledge the bad days.

There ARE bad days, people. If someone tells you otherwise, then that someone is blowing smoke up your A$$. It's the day that your personal demons come out to play with you and prey upon your emotions.

Those are the days that you stay in your jammies and eat a couple of pints of ice cream, a box of cookies, or couple dozen donuts, or name your guilty pleasure of choice.

This time--notice I said, THIS TIME?--my guilty pleasure of choice was a tub of icing.

You know, those plastic cans you buy at the grocery store filled with yummy tasty goodness, chocked full of saturated fats and enough sugar it should send you into a diabetic coma. Yeah, one of those.
Sixteen ounces of evil--ONE POUND--of your choice of flavor.

One serving: 2 Tbls. or slightly over one ounce.
Calories per serving: 140
Calculated Weight Watcher points: 4 points per serving
Servings per container: 14

I will say that I didn't quite finish the entire tub, I might have left one serving in the container, but that's it. Actually, it was starting to make me feel sick . . .  but for all intents and purposes, I ate the whole darn thing.

AND I did it on purpose. I needed to saturate my desire until it made me sick. If I hadn't done that, then I would have done it again and again. I'm not condoning this behavior, but it worked for me.

Let's just do the math, okay?
*drumroll*

Calories ingested: 1,960
Weight Watcher Points: 59

If I had let that one bad day (four hours actually) effect me for the entire week, then I wouldn't have lost any weight. I wouldn't have gotten right back on track. I wouldn't have walked. And I would have spiralled down into the morass of depression.

So the moral of this confession is to acknowledge what you did--and then put it behind you.

You had a bad day. We all do. If you dwell on it, then you will do it again and again. Resulting in the self-defeating weight gain that got you into this pickle in the first place!

It's okay . . . but then get right back on that treadmill, start planning your meals, and eat lots and lots of fruits and veg! Hey, it's almost springtime, which means yummy fresh veg, grilling chicken and more hours of sunlight to walk.

I love it! Only 3.6 pounds to goal!!

Later, Peeps!

I'll pay someone to shop for me . . .

My hubby is forcing me to shop for clothes.

I don't wanna!

I hate shopping. I've always wanted a wardrobe faerie who would wave her wand and I would have the appropriate clothes in the right size.

But I must confess that he's -- I really HATE to have to admit this -- but he's RIGHT!

Even the jeans I bought recently are falling off after about an hour of wearing!

My weight hasn't changed in the last few weeks, but I suspect everything is shifting around a little bit. Shoot, I'm wearing a size six and I'm not even in the weight range for my height!

Last night, after a Tex-Mex dinner at Los Cabos (I took home 2/3 of my my meal), we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop to look for shorts as I had donated all my shorts a couple of months ago, but kept one pair that I held up with a LARGE binder clip. I ended up buying two pairs of ladies (6) shorts and one pair of men's (30) shorts.

So now I have shorts to wear when I go walking. Next week, it's supposed to be in the 80's!

What's that? Why do I wear MEN'S shorts?

Because of the pockets, my friends. Women's shorts have shallow pockets, if they even have pockets!

Eleven years ago when I started carting around a diaper bag, I refused to carry a purse, diaper bag AND infant. I got rid of the purse, and it was a very nice purse--Coach.  In fact, you can't find this one any more (I just looked!). I'll have to take a picture of it. Anyhoo, I bought a small wallet, thinned down my keys to one fob and one house key, and a phone. Until recently, I had a very small phone, but these new Androids are huge in comparison.

And that is the reason for my pocket requirement for shorts.

But the clothes I need aren't things I can find at Wal-Mart, Target or the Bass Pro shop. Nope, I need dress slacks, at least one or two dresses, new shirts and lingerie.

I have a feeling trips to Macy's, Kohl's, Ann Taylor, Coldwater Creek, Chico's and Victoria's Secrets is in my future.

*sigh*

I hate shopping. . . EXCEPT shoes. I LOVE to wear stilettos, but I don't buy new shoes unless I need a pair for a new outfit.

Hey! I like that idea. I'll suffer through the clothes shopping of a couple of pairs of shoes!

Later, Peeps!

I. Am. Clueless.

Are you one of those people who can watch a TV show and figure out who dun it before the first commercial break?

Can you read a book and figure out the the story set-up before you hit the end of the first act?

Can you tell what people are talking about across a mall simply through their body language?

I can't.

I. Am. Clueless.

Do you think I'm one of those people who plot and plan just to get back at someone?

If you do, then boy have I pulled the wool over your eyes. Heck, I can barely hold my own in a Tic-Tac-Toe game, much less trying to figure out intricate chess moves. I'd be the first one voted off Survivor. Either that or the strong players would want to take me to the end because they can't imagine someone being so obtuse.

I am as you see me, flaws and all.

I am brutally honest.
--though I try to temper my honesty with compassion. Sometimes I fail. I'm human. Sometimes I get angry and vent. But once I vent, I'm done. It doesn't last long. And it isn't loud. The veritable tempest in a teacup.

I don't like emotional conflict and tend to avoid it at all costs -- which explains my writing issues.

I don't hold grudges -- Who does the grudge effect? YOU. Not the person who you hold a grudge against.

Don't give me the silent treatment if I make you mad. It won't work. It isn't because I'm that strong of a personality. Oh, no. It's because I'm that OBTUSE. I won't even realize it. I'll think you aren't feeling good, or whatever. Trust me, this has happened in the past.

And I'm loyal to a fault. I will always stay loyal to someone until I've been screwed over so many times that I finally cut my losses.

I have a wide circle of people who I would call close acquaintances, but not friends.

I don't have a huge circle of friends. And my bestie is my hubby, not another female friend.

BUT I will say this:  If I call you my friend, I want you to know that would take a bullet for you.

And yes, some of you reading this will know who you are, while others will have no clue that I feel this way.

I may be thoughtless in my comments at times. Or imprudent in what I write. But just realize, there is no hidden agenda. I'm not trying to sabotage anyone.

I am simply clueless.

I am what I am.

I say what I mean, so take what I say at face value. There is no hidden meaning. If you don't like it, then you can remove yourself from my sphere.

Later, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Coleslaw with Vinaigrette Dressing

This will be a short and sweet post this week.

I like cabbage, but the fam does not. In fact, I've been relegated to heating up sauerkraut on the grill (just wrap it in double foil and toss on the shelf above the main grill)--{totally nummy with grilled bratwurst and German mustard!}. If your fam doesn't eat cabbage, it can get funky-monkey in no time. So I opt for the packaged pre-shredded stuff, though it's more expensive this way.

Two weeks ago on the Weight Watcher website, a well-known chef took julienned (thin shreds--like lettuce on your fast food tacos) collard greens, cabbage and carrots. Basically, she took a few liquid ingredients (oil, balsamic and other herbs) mixed them together and poured it over her raw veg, toss to coat and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to soften the cabbage.

Well, guess what? You can do this, too! But it's even easier if you use salad dressing!

Coleslaw with Vinaigrette Dressing

2 cups shredded cabbage mixture (0 WW points plus)
2-3 Tbs. light oil-based salad dressing (btw 3-4 WW points plus, depending on the dressing-calculate it out)

Toss in small sealed container and refrigerate. One very nice single serving as it breaks down the tough leaves.

I used Newman's Light Roasted Garlic Balsamic dressing, but think of the other options:

 Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Cranberry Walnut Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Honey Mustard Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Lime Vinaigrette

Newman's Own Lite Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Raspberry & Walnut Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Red Wine Vinegar & Olive Oil Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Roasted Garlic Balsamic Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Sun Dried Tomato Dressing
There you go! A different type of coleslaw for every day of the week!

 

Enjoy, Peeps!