Aunt Caroline

As of this morning, I am now "Aunt Caroline" to one itty bitty baby named Alivia Rose. She was so excited to greet the world that she showed up pretty early, but we are all very happy to have her. I will get to meet her this weekend!

Texas Family Magazine - New Issue

A new issue of Texas Family Magazine is out, this one featuring an article I wrote on teaching kids about money. I think a lot of parents don't get much beyond the basics in educating their kids about money; maybe this article will inspire some parents to pursue it further.
This is the first issue, btw, where I officially am listed as an associate editor.

Holiday Baking Season

Let the holiday baking begin!
As soon as I arrived back in Austin from my Thanksgiving travels, I started getting in the mood for baking all the treats I so love to make this time of year. I'm waiting until next weekend to start my Christmas season, but I know many of you are already there. I'm receiving a lot of requests for some of my holiday recipes. The favorites this time of year tend to be Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows (great for gifts,) Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark (also great for gifts,) and Cranberry Pumpkin Bread (great for anything.) If you're wanting any of these recipes for personal use, I'm happy to e-mail them for free. (Of course, I charge for them to be published, as they are copyrighted and my own creation.)
I plan on continuing my experiments in the kitchen this year. I've made Peppermint Marshmallows and Vanilla Marshmallows before, and I think I'll try that again, maybe throwing in a little caramel dip for the vanilla ones. I'm also going to try a S'mores experiment with the Bark. That could turn out phenomenally. We shall see.
My theory in cooking is this: If everything going in to it is good, then it will be good! This has served me well. I love trying new things in the kitchen!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I've been sick again, pretty badly, this time for over a week. Clearly, I need a reduction in stress because, under normal circumstances, I rarely get sick. Hopefully, over the Thanksgiving holiday I will get some extra rest and get my health back to normal.
And, on that note, have a great Thanksgiving everyone! Eat lots of turkey and cranberries and all that good stuff!

Writing

My faith in the ability of future generations to write is being restored, thank goodness. I am a guest judge for a school writing contest, and I have been surprised pleasantly by what the students have produced, and, in particular, I have been surprised by their creativity. I've also been doing some volunteer tutoring, and it's interesting for me to see how the kids' personalities come out so differently in their work.
It's amazing to think about all the different thoughts and layers of thoughts we have running around in our heads. My head just doesn't turn off, ever, and so many of my thoughts are intriguing, to me at least. I could never even begin to get all my ideas out, even if I published two books a year, every year, for forever.
I wish I were a little better about putting my thoughts on paper. I should be more disciplined about it, but it is a long process to train myself, especially when it seems my spare time is so limited. I am making progress on my book, however ...

Lantana - Best in Texas Music Magazine

I wrote a story on a really cool music group named Lantana for this month's Best in Texas Music Magazine's "Stars on the Horizon" section.
Lantana is made up of three women who are at least 35 years old and starting off a new direction in their lives. They have a little bit of a kick butt attitude, in a good way.
I had fun with the story. In one of their songs, "The Juice Ain't Worth the Squeeze," they sing about a phenomenon so many of us women are familiar with - the miraculous "growing up" of men that usually occurs around the age of 40.
Only through November 2006, you can read the story here.

2nd Annual Game Night

I hosted my second annual Game Night this past weekend. It was a blast!! Lots of good friends and good food and a little dose of healthy competition.
Here, some of us are scrambling to see who can come up with the best answers for Scattergories!

I Am Like a Wild Horse

"I am like a wild horse. You can't tame me.
You put the oats in the pen, though, and I'll come in for a nibble every day.
But the minute you shut that gate, I'll jump the fence and you'll never see me again."

(Love it. Love it. Love it. Wish I'd written it.)

Get Going - Vote!

* They didn't give me an "I voted" sticker this morning. : (
I was out walking last night, and I heard a father call his son. He told him that if he went to go vote he'd buy him dinner afterward. The mom jokingly cried foul: "He's buying votes!"
I hope everyone takes every initiative they can to encourage people to hit the polls today - - especially if you are on my side of the aisle!!! ;)
Get out today and vote. Don't put off today what you can't do tomorrow!

Pretty Pictures from Waldo County, Maine

Here are some pictures I took that I just thought were really pretty.

It was a gorgeous time of year to visit coastal Maine. I never imagined myself to be big on leaf-peeping, but I particularly loved walking through Moose Point Sate Park along Penobscot Bay and seeing so many great trees, which is where the middle two pictures are from.