SQUEEEE! Look what I won!

Last month, the awesome author/illustrator Russ Cox held a giveaway for his newest book, FARAWAY FRIENDS. It was the easiest contest to enter ever: all you had to do was Like the Facebook page, and since I already adored his art, why not like the page, right? (And you might want to Like the page too...no pressure or anything. I will just be mad at you if you don't...kidding! I can't even keep track of my own schedule.)

Guess who won?! Yes, my next door neighbor!

Riiiight. It was me! I think it was quite appropriate that I won because I write sci-fi and picture books, and I love sci-fi and picture books. Plus, it was Mother's Day yesterday and will be my birthday this coming week. Since my family doesn't get me anything, I rely on the kindness of strangers (or myself) for presents.

Check it out: a copy of the book, a poster, bookmarks, aaaaaand...

(pssst...a secret: the book cover glows in the dark!!)

an original drawing! Woohoo! This baby is getting framed (in a good way; not a "it's going to take the fall for me" way).

Take a look at the fun endpapers and copyright page of the book:

 If the end pages don't make you want to read the book, you might want to get your eyesight and sense of humor checked out ASAP. So run to your nearest bookstore or library and get this book to read. You can thank me later. I take major credit cards.

I think you'll agree that this was worth breaking from my blogging break for, don't you?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Winning and Phyllis the Groundhog

I had the best start to February. Yes, Son1 turned 17...but that's not the good news, though his being potty-trained is pretty nice. ;)

On Friday, I received a large envelope from Children's Writer magazine. I'm a subscriber but I get the electronic edition now, and the snail mail version usually comes in a #10 envelope. And this envelope had a big "Do Not Bend" order written on it. I had no idea what I received.

This was what I found when I opened the package:

A merit certificate for winning 2nd place in their Young Adult Short Fiction contest which they ran in the Fall of 2012, a congratulatory letter, and, the icing on the cake, there was also a check for $250!

It's really nice to get validation like this every once in a while, because it's hard being a writer. Unless you're Stephen King, you're more likely to get rejections than acceptances. Most days, I'm more discouraged than upbeat about the process. But, when you have a story, or two, or fifty, fighting to get out, you can't stop even when rejections pile high and outnumber acceptances 1,000 to 1.

While we're on the topic of writing, talented children's lit writer Susanna Hill sent forth her groundhog friend Phyllis to have her own Groundhog Day fun. So did Phyllis see her shadow at my house in southern Indiana?

Well, the day was sunny but frigid (highs in the low 20s Fahrenheit), and Phyllis isn't dumb. She wasn't about to venture out and have her breath freeze on her cute little nose. When I finally found Phyllis, she was hiding in my yarn stash, playing dress-up with my sparkly yarn. That little stinker! ;)

I don't know about spring, but Phyllis did say that the prognosis of an early knitting project is very good!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Life's been good to me so far!

Thank you, Joe Walsh. ;)

Well, life for me is generally pretty darned good, but this month, I won me some goodies!

The first is this book "Cooking for the Birds" that I got from winning a haiku contest offered by WildBird magazine ( @WBeditor ) on Twitter.

This other set of goodies is actually for ds#1 who is the main birder in our family. The nice people at Audubon Guides (@AudubonGuides) found out that my 15 year old is an avid birder and sent a package for him, no strings attached! I have to say I did buy their birding App, but it was on sale for a great price and I was going to buy it anyway.

Their Mushroom App is on sale right now for half price, so you budding mycologists should get yours now.

Speaking of getting freebies, a friend gave me a large bag of grapes, so I got to make some jam. YES!  Thanks bunches, Carol!  ;)

After making jam, I painted my front door, after having serious red-front-door envy (thanks for nothing, Amber and Sherrie).

I experienced a moment of panic when I realized that it was middle of September and I hadn't started chemistry labs for my older son yet. Thanks to Meg's materials, I had no problem getting going on them. I decided that because ds#1 doesn't have anyone to do labs with this year, ds#2 can do them with him. Ds#2 would be in grade 8 if he were in public school, while ds#1 would be in grade 10.  However, doing the labs together reminds me of just how far apart they are sometimes. While ds#2 works pretty much at grade level, ds#1 works at the level of at least a sophomore undergraduate, if not as far up as senior. This is lab 2; the colors aren't food coloring or markers. They were all chemical reactions:

This little guy made me smile. It was hanging out outside our bedroom window. Duude, you're not camouflaged with our screen. I can see you! Silly stick insect.

And because Suzanne asked about them, I have to share photos of the mixing bowls I inherited from my MIL:

The one on the far right is the yellow Pyrex dish I use for pretty much everything. The one on the far left is a blue Pyrex bowl in the same set. Here's a close-up (pardon the gunk on it...I had butter and shortening in it just before I took the photo) :

Alas, I don't have another bowl in the set...but I would be totally happy to receive one as a gift!  ;)

Another thing that makes me happy is when a dessert works out. However, even when it doesn't work out, it still makes a decent breakfast. This Coconut Banana Cake was just so-so.  I think if I'd used all cake flour like the recipe asked and also used a fresh coconut, it would have been pretty darned good. Man, I haven't had a fresh coconut in forever.  I miss living in the tropics sometimes.

If you want to try making this yourself, here's the recipe, from The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook:

Lemon curd filling - homemade or store-bought
2.25 C cake flour
1 C sugar (I always halve the amount)
3/4 C shortening
1/3 C milk
2.5 t baking powder
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
2 eggs
1 C mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1 Coconut (about 2 pounds) or 1 7oz pkg flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans.  Into large bowl, measure flour and next 9 ingredients. With mixer at low speed, beat ingredients just until blended. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.

2. Pour batter into pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.  Cool in pans on rack 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.

3. While cake is cooking, prepare and shred enough coconut to make 2.5 cups shredded coconut. Wrap shredded coconut in plastic wrap and refrigerate (along with remaining coconut).

4. In small bowl, with mixer at medium speak, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

5. On plate, place 1 cake layer, rounded side down; evenly spread with lemon-curd filling. Top with second layer, rounded side-up, lightly pressing cake onto filling.  Frost side and top of cake with whipped cream; pat shredded coconut into cream. Refrigerate cake.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Random Tuesday Facts + thanks!

Some little snippets of Tuesday facts for you today:

1) As my ds#1 likes to tell people: infinity is not a number; it's a mathematical concept.

2) If you've had a dry spell writing in your blog (oh yeah, that's me), here's some advice on how to prime that pump: How to Generate Great Content Week After Week by Write to Done

And my thanks? It goes to Joanna, Ms. Product Body herself! My order of Whipped Shea Butter (order now before the summer heat prevents their shipment!) arrived with extra goodies from Jo: a sample of Crush on You in Baked Bread scent (I have to keep reminding myself not to eat my bath and body products) and her ta-da!! totally perfected Creme Fresh! To say it's a delightful and emollient cream doesn't do it justice; you need to order one yourself and try it!

Ok, have to run again. Hope you are all having a nice start to the week! I was feeling a bit harried and grumpy this morning, but then I won a book from Algonquin Books - through Twitter, no less!, so that perked me right up. :)

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." ~ Johann von Goethe

Giveaways Galore

Autumn is making people very, very generous!

I just won the Carmindy book at The Soap Bar blog!

Aside from my own Winter Blues and My Vice giveaways, there are several more I'd like to share with you:

Little Window Shoppe has a giveaway on sleek, professional make-up brushes.

As I mentioned yesterday, Gassner Custom Soaps has a body and hair care giveaway package that I would sure love to win.

One Bubble at a Time has a giveaway every Friday! How cool is that?

Not quite a giveaway, but it is nonetheless, Spotted Cow Soaps is looking for people to test-drive her Whipped Body Frosting.

I've probably forgotten some others I've seen, but the kids are invading my personal space and I can't concentrate. So, I'll add on as I see more!

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." ~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)