Y'all Think I'm Kidding

This is from a discussion in the comments section of my blog (If you're not reading the comments, you're missing out on half the fun!)
I complained because I realized an unintentional consequence of my blog is I will never be able to participate in covert ops for the CIA. Seriously, this was something I had not ruled out for my future, and then, all of the sudden, Boom! An option for my life was terminated. I think it triggered a response in me because it was the first door I really felt was shut for my life, and I did it without even realizing it.
Y'all may think I'm kidding about joining the CIA, but it was definitely something I left open for the future. See, my Mom has CIA "friends." Yes, my Mom. The one who, when we're on the phone, every time says, "Is that my beeper? What do I hit - flash?" ;)

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
I had a very nice Christmas (aside from the flat tire that, thankfully, my Dad noticed.) I was waiting to see if any of my relatives would e-mail me pictures (harumm, harumm) from Christmas, but they have not so ...
We had our Christmas Eve party with my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, my sister, my aunt and uncle and their three high school/college age boys and twin three-year-old girls, my grandma and grandpa, and a couple of family friends. It was small this year because many of the other relatives had come in only a couple of weeks earlier to celebrate my grandparents' 62nd anniversary, but it was still very fun!
And, yes, I DID receive the "Murder, She Wrote" first season DVD collection - including the original pilot movie - so if I disappear for the better part of a day sometime here soon, you can assume I am in Cabot Cove! (Jessica Fletcher rocks!) And, an aunt who I didn't get to see made me some Limoncello. I am really excited about that. I might publish or post her recipe.
We went to see "Walk the Line," which is fantastic, and I found out something interesting: My Grandpa on my Dad's side sold Elvis his first suit! How cool is that!

Look Who's Under the Mistletoe!

Uh oh! Look who's under the mistletoe!

Wherever will she find someone to kiss her?







~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(No, really!! Where will she?!)

Me - Almost!

I made these pictures of myself based on previous events.

Can you guess which ones they match?

Here for the Podcast Interview?

Scroll down the page, or click HERE! Better yet, do both!

Shopping for a Liger

My brother has asked me to get him a Liger for Christmas, but all I have been able to find so far are Tigons. Crap!

Trail of Lights

A group of us went to the Trail of Lights recently. The lights were soooo pretty - I loved it, especially the beginning tunnel o' lights, which makes you feel all dizzy and giddy inside!

Here are a few from our group - Rob, me, Ellen, and April ... and greetings to Ly and Prabhakar, who were also there!

A really, really cool tree! (Can you imagine the time that must have gone in to wrapping those lights around every single branch all the way to the end?)

And a neat effects picture taken by NYC Rob, who has found himself all the way down in little ol' Austin in big ol' Texas. In no time, we'll have him wearing cowboy boots, two-stepping like a pro, and saying things like, "Howdy, y'all!"

I am so glad to be getting in to the Christmas spirit - and in my Santa hat, too! There has been so much work lately, and I still have half of my Christmas shopping left to do Thursday! Wish me luck finishing my work tonight!

Holiday Parties

There have been so many holiday parties lately!

Here are some pictures from the "Free, Young, and Sexy" Party, including a bachelor and bachelorette who strutted their stuff on stage for the sake of charity. All proceeds from the bachelor and bachelorette auction went to Austin's Bikes for Kids program. These two did a fine effort of getting the crowd to pay and pay for an opportunity to go on a date with them!

And, Happy Birthday to my friend Ellen!

Back UP!

I'm having trouble finding the right analogy, but I feel like I've been saying, "Stop!" "Start!" all weekend! My Podcast is all the way available. Please listen and encourage your friends to listen, also. And, my site, too, is fully functional so stay a while and have some fun!
Although it was no fault of his own, Steven apologizes very nicely here.

Hear My Interview!

I am super excited to announce that my interview for the Armadillo Podcast is now available by clicking

*********** HERE!***********

Please take a listen (it's about 25 minutes in length,) and let me know what you think about it. In the interview, I discuss Austin and Oak Hill, my take on being a freelance writer, and a topic near and dear to me - the need for better media and role models for teenage girls.

You also can read about what Steven Phenix had to say about me in this post and this post.

I really hope you enjoy the conversation! (If you have trouble downloading it, please try again. Let me know if you continue to have a problem. You do NOT have to have an iPod - you can hear it on your computer.)

Dark and White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

People have expressed mucho interest recently in finding Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Peppermint Bark recipes. Because of the interest, I will run recipes for them in my column this week. For those of you who do not have access to the paper, you may request the recipes by e-mailing me through the available links on my Recipes page. These are very good as easy-to-make Christmas gifts.
On another note, it is definitely PARTY season - so many things going on this week!

Isn't that Nice?

They sure are saying some nice things about me in this post and in this post over at the Armadillo Podcast. I hear my interview will be ready tomorrow so be on the lookout!

Thanks to Austinist!

Thanks to Austinist.com for naming my post on driving through the ice storm as one of their top picks for the week!

Launch Party

As I said, the Launch Party itself was great!

The group includes Editor in Chief Jennifer, (Astros pitcher) Roger and (Cover mom) Debbie Clemens, and other mag reps.

Here is the cover (notice my Family Values story on the top left.)

Then, it's me with Lauren, a Houston Aeros Rep.

I met a lot of great people at the party, and, it turns out, several of the writers and the Art Director live in Austin - where all the cool people are. ;)

OK - Here's What You Have Been Waiting For ...

Finally, I have put together (for my non-column readers) the results from my "How to Lose a Guy" and "How to Lose a Gal" polls. Here are y'all's answers.
First, the Women's Perspective:
From the stunned, “I have absolutely no idea” comments to the “I’m really going to have to think about this” comments to the “I’m a lot better at losing guys than winning them, Caroline” comments, it proved to be a tougher question than I anticipated for the women, but here are some of their answers.
What Women Do to “Lose” Guys
Invite yourself out with him and his friends.
Introduce him as your boyfriend when you only have been dating a week.
Call him too much to do things with him.
(S)Mother him.
Try to convert him to your religion/diet/lifestyle, etc.
Talk about your ex-boyfriends all the time: how romantic they were, etc.
Talk about yourself non-stop.
Try to get him to buy you expensive things.
Talk about marriage and having kids.
Try to introduce him to your parents too soon.
Leave stuff at his place without asking him first.
Ask for a key to his place.
Nag him.
What Women Do to “Win” Guys
Don't answer his calls right away.
Find out if he prefers skirts or pants.
Surprise him with pizza for dinner.
Cook or bake for him.
Thank him for the “little things,” such as opening doors, etc. Let him know his efforts are appreciated.
Make him feel good about himself by showering him with compliments. Or, alternatively, make him feel bad about himself so his self esteem is so damaged he thinks you are the best he can get. (This came with a disclaimer saying she had just seen it work with others.)
Give him his space.
Act unavailable when he calls.
Don't ask too many prying questions in the beginning.
What Doesn’t Work:
Telling him you are going out with a bunch of guys just to make him jealous.
Telling him you are asexual and he has no chance of sleeping with you.
Now, the Men's Perspective:
“I claim no knowledge of the picture from your side of the hill, of course, but why do I have this feeling that someplace in the Girl Rulebook there's this Rule (probably a sub-paragraph of a larger, more complete and complex rule -- you know, with a big number, 13.1256 or something) that says, ‘Thou shall never let the Guy know he's won you, at least completely.’”
What Men Do to “Win” Women
Be interested rather than interesting.
Care about her interests, feelings, and needs.
Compliment her appearance and achievements.
Buy her flowers.
Call her everyday.
Open the door for her.
Dress well.
Cook for her.
Fix things around her house.
What Men Do to “Lose” Women
Skip the gentlemanly details.
Never compliment her.
Don't concern yourself with what's important to her.
Talk about other women a lot - especially ex's.
Don’t offer to fix things around her house.
Don’t call her enough.
Be too interested, too quickly. If a woman gets the idea that a guy's got nothing going on but her, he's in shallow water and running aground pretty quick.
One man said, “Note, women are resilient when in love and will take a lot of abuse before giving up. So ‘losing’ one this way may take a lot of time and work.”
Another man said, “When it comes to intimate relationships, most people of both genders have spent more time and energy on elementary school grammar than on introspection of this topic. Additionally, asking each gender about themselves only gives a single (pun intended) reference point. I only know how one man dates - me. I know how many women date.”
My Perspective: The men seemed to be a little more thoughtful at answering the questions. I was, at first, surprised by that, but then I think I figured out the reason - you see, the men were able to answer the questions so thoughtfully because we, as women, have informed them so well as to how best meet our needs. ;)
Really, it’s a win for all of us. Happy debate on that one!

Launch Party: Great.
Drive Home: Not So Great.
Oh, my gosh! I have never driven in weather that bad! I was out in the middle of nowhere between Houston and Austin with no street lights, driving through five inches of icy slush with sleet hardcore pounding on my windshield. Sometimes my wheels didn't want to keep moving it was so thick, but I just tried to keep going slow and steady. After all, what else was I going to do?
Other than seeing a guy in front of me majorly lose control, I didn't see any accidents (probably because I practically was the only one on the road) until I was one mile away from home. Then, I came across a car with its flashers on - totally smashed. I couldn't see any activity.
I called 911 and got out of my car to cross the very slick, icy freeway. The 911 operator kept asking me if anyone was hurt or if someone was thrown from the car. I was just like, "I don't know. I really don't know." I couldn't see in the car because the ice was too thick. I scanned for bodies but didn't see any. (Do you know what it feels like to "scan for bodies?")
I made my way across the freeway - which was very scary because it was right over a ridge and oncoming traffic may not have been able to stop quickly enough in the ice, but I made it. I pulled on the door, watching my hand reach out in slow motion and not knowing what to expect inside or what parts of my inner self might have to be called upon.
The door wouldn't open. I slid over to the driver's door, and then, I could see it was empty. Whoever it was had already been rescued - thank goodness!
I always wonder in situations like that what I would have been prepared to do. Pretty much anything, I think. I've always felt I am the kind of person who can handle real danger, but, thankfully, there was nothing gruesome I was faced with that night.
I was so glad to arrive home. It took me two hours to unwind enough to go to sleep.

Media Activities

Well, I had my interview for the Armadillo Podcast yesterday. I think it went pretty well. Steven Phenix, who interviewed me, is very nice. My voice was kind of throaty because of a bad allergy day, but hopefully it won't sound too bad. It should be out within a week for everyone to download. I think quite a lot of people are expected to listen to it.
Tomorrow, I am off to Houston for the launch party for Texas Family Magazine. (Their web site is undergoing a conversion - I will have a profile and picture when it is finished.) I have stories in their first two issues, and I feel really good about it becoming a successful publication. I think Roger Clemens is going to be at the launch party - they have some sort of affiliation with the Houston Astros.
Otherwise, I haven't even touched my Christmas decorations yet, and I would really like to get to that. With the weather that is coming in, I guess I missed my chance to do it when it is warm. Nothing like figuring out why Rudolph's butt won't turn on in forty degree weather. ;)

Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows

Here is one of the Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows I made for the Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Party.






And, here are a few of us who attended.

Work and Play Makes Caroline a Busy Gal

* I found out there is an actual definition of "shaking that laffy taffy." According to the Rap Dictionary, it means, "The movement in a female's butt that continues to move, even when she stops." ~~ Ohhh, my!!
Well, I shook my Laffy Taffy last night.
Now, it's work, work, work all day today and a Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Party tonight. Tomorrow - if work, work, work goes well, I will be putting up my Christmas decorations - inside and out.

Lookout, world! - Here I come!

My voice is about to be broadcast for anyone, anywhere in the world. Crazy, no? The reason why this will be happening is I have been asked to give a personal interview for the Armadillo Podcast, a weekly show about Austin that has featured such characters as Kinky Friedman. The fellow with the Podcast wants to speak to me about being a writer and communicator and also has mentioned that he wants to get my perspective on being single in Austin - Oh my, does he know what he is getting in to??
I'll let you know when I'm set to air. It may be a bit because he wants to promote me a couple of times first. You know, get my huge fan base good and excited so they all tear over to his site when it's finally out. Maybe we could charge admission. ;)