Tuesday tidbit...

Hidden Possibilities Book 2 of the Endless Possibilities series, Chapter 5:

"I beg your pardon, sir?" Her pause was longer this time. "Did I hear you correctly? Are you saying you don't know your own name?"

Battling down his own rising panic, he attempted a weak smile.

"So it seems. Quite the fix, don't you agree? I might pass myself on the street and not know it."

What was her name? She'd told him. Ah, yes, Caitlin. Though she stifled a snort, he heard it, and then she had the temerity to giggle. He wanted to be offended. He should be outraged. He was in a terrible pickle, and yet she made no attempt to hide her mirth.

This week's links...

Patricia Johns discovered creamer potatoes and asked a question I enjoyed answering...
http://patriciajohnsromance.com/2013/07/22/creamer-potatoes/

Holley Gerth shares sweet and simple advice:
http://holleygerth.com/simple-ways-you-can-help-someone-whos-hurting/

Excellent post from The Writer's Refuge:
http://thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/a-writers-most-common-mistake-and-how-to-overcome-it/

Rewrite and edits are coming along.

God bless.

Making the perfect rice...

Start with good rice. Really.

Before I went to Thailand, I didn't care for rice. It was okay, but not great.

In Thailand, I discovered how amazing rice is. They have over 200 varieties, and you won't find much brown rice. It doesn't keep well.

Regular long grain rice is cooked on a 1:2 ratio. 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, with a bit of butter. I've used chicken broth, and it works well. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the heat, lay a towel between the pan and lid and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Absorbs some of the excess moisture, so the rice isn't sticky but fluffy.

It's also amazing cooked in the oven, but the recipe is a little more complicated and takes longer.

Why share something so simple? It took me years to master cooking rice.

Jasmine rice is 1:1-3/4 that's 1 cup of rice to 1-3/4 liquid. I've even used coconut milk. Loved it!

One of my favorite Thai dishes, is khao neeo mamuang. Mango with "sticky" rice, another variety. It's cooked in a straw rice hat. Jasmine works as well. Add a bit of coconut milk and sliced mango, and delicious!

Mango season lasts for approximately two months, so you make yourself absolutely sick on the stuff because you know you won't see it again for ten months. By the way, the mangoes in the US aren't quite the same. The Hawaiian mangoes are closer than Mexican mangoes.

Yes, I really enjoy cooking. I wanted to attend culinary school. Whole other story.

Tuesday Tidbit...

A Promise of Possibilities, book 1 in the Endless Possibilities series, chapter 5:

Matthew kissed his sister on the cheek at the Whitleys’ door. “I’ll return to escort you home in an hour.”

Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “You escorted me so you could meet Mr. Silverton.”

“Of course.” Matthew raised his brows. “I couldn’t allow you to meet him alone.”

“We did not know he would be there.”

“I couldn’t very well risk it, now could I?” He continued, in a droll tone, “Think what a scandal you’d have created.”

“You are being ridiculous.”

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A variety of links...

If you're a Jane Austen fan, you might like The Republic of Pemberley:
http://www.pemberley.com/

Writers In The Storm offers some good suggestions for overcoming writer's block:
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/writers-block-the-thought-between-the-music-and-the-motion/

The Writer's Refuge shares lessons learned about writing, from Paul McCartney...
http://thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/what-paul-mccartney-taught-me-this-week-about-writing/

Editing is coming along.

Saving Lisa has taken a few unexpected turns.

May God bless your week.

One of my favorite dishes...

When I lived in Thailand, I used to eat khai yat sai on a regular basis.

Stir fry ground pork or chicken. Set it aside. Stir fry vegetables. In the US, I used zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Set it aside with the meat. Fish sauce and soy sauce and garlic are added during the cooking, but since I didn't keep fish sauce on hand and my tummy isn't a huge fan of garlic, I only used soy sauce and only sparingly. Pour in 1-2 beaten eggs and roll the pan so the egg  spreads out into a thin layer, like crepe batter. In a minute or two, it will be cooked because it's so thin. Add the meat and veggie mixture in the middle of the egg "crepe." Fold the sides over the top, making an envelope or pocket. Serve over rice.

Fun trivial moment...

Last Sunday, I noticed my Christmas cactus, Chris, was drooping a bit. I don't always remember to water him. He's a cactus, so he doesn't need a lot.

I slid him under the faucet and turned the water on, maybe a little too hard. Okay, it was too much.

I informed Chris, "Consider it an Arizona monsoon cloudburst," and returned him to his spot on the windowsill.

Moments later, I glanced at him and noticed water dripping of the roof outside my window, blue skies beyond.

My first thought was, "Oh, shoot. Why do we have water flowing off the roof What went wrong?"

Shifting my position, I was better able to see out side.

Hey, what do you know?

The street and the sidewalk across the way were wet. Taking a closer look, I was able to see the rain coming down. I moved to a different window.

Blue skies, sunny, and raining.

It took some maneuvering to finally see the clouds, but they weren't what I expected. Instead of dark and ominous (what we usually see around here when rain is involved), white fluffy clouds dotted the sky.

Thanks God for the rain without lightning. I appreciated it.

Sharing this week's links...

My friend Patricia Johns shares her excitement: A book in print (it's on my TBR list).
http://patriciajohnsromance.com/2013/07/08/425/

Writers In The Storm shared an awesome post on Fearless Pitching, not my strong suit:
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/fearless-pitching-part-1/
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/fearless-pitching-part-2/

Over at Jennifer Slattery Lives Out Loud, she shares a fantastic post by Elizabeth Maddrey:
http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com/2013/07/11/ill-fix-it-myself/

Holley Gerth shared an important reminder:
http://holleygerth.com/no-matter-what-youve-done-god-is-not-done-with-you/

Over at Writer's Refuge, ideas on finding more time to write:
http://thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/how-to-write-on-the-run/

J. Morgan has written a YA with superheroes:
http://vintagevonnie.blogspot.com/2013/07/confessions-of-geek-by-j-morgan.html

And finally, an encouraging list well worth reading over at We Are One:
http://weareone-ruth.blogspot.com/2013/07/list-i-wish-i-had.html

Enjoy your week, and may God bless you.

Wordless

Enjoyable read...

Lynette Endicott's Starting Over series Book One More Than a Job intrigued me and kept me turning pages until I finished it, in one sitting.

Trying new authors is a hobby. I did not realize this until recently. More books than I could possibly read in six months are queued in my Kindle and shelved on two bookshelves, if all I did was read. Choosing which book to read next is agonizing. Sometimes, it's a matter of not being able to bear the pileup anymore, so I dive in with the intent of reducing the piles. I'm successful, to an extent, until new books show up. Interestingly enough, if my piles dwindle too much, anxiety sets in and the next thing you know new books are shuffled onto my Kindle or show up on the doorstep.

I chose to try Lynette's book because she is a fellow Desert Breeze author. More Than a Job is a contemporary, spicy, inspirational read. The instant attraction between Paige and Josh drew me right in. I HAD to see how it all worked out. I wasn't disappointed.

I loved the support systems both Paige and Josh enjoyed. I was fascinated with how Paige goes about handling her world blowing up in her face. I even took notes for future reference. :-) Josh's honor endeared him to me forever. :-)

This week's links to share...

Everyone should be blessed with a friendship similar to the one Patricia Johns shares with someone she's known a while:
http://patriciajohnsromance.com/2013/07/01/a-personal-touch/

Number One London has been sharing an amazing travel log; her trip to England with her husband. It's brilliant. :-)
http://onelondonone.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-couple-in-england-day-8.html

This week, Number One London also had a guest post by M. Denise C., who  shared her first visit to London:
http://onelondonone.blogspot.com/2013/07/guest-post-my-first-trip-to-london.html

Jennifer Slattery has compiled a group of inspirational stories in Sweet Freedom. Here's the link to her blog:
http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com/2013/07/03/now-free-on-kindle/
It's free on Kindle through 7 July. I've downloaded mine and look forward to reading it.

Brettworks shared an interesting piece on writing:
http://brettworks.com/2013/07/03/notes-on-some-kinds-of-writing/

Holley Gerth celebrates Independence Day opening her gift of Freedom (short and well worth the read):
http://holleygerth.com/enjoy-your-freedom/

At Writers In The Storm, Steena Holmes talks about Newsletters:
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/the-how-and-why-of-author-newsletters/
I confess: I don't have one yet.

Independence Day...

May God bless us with courage to stand for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

May God bless those who choose to fight for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

May God bless the families of those who gave all in the defense of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

(Photo from a free share site)

One of my favorite inspirational authors...

I recently finished Teri Wilson's latest book, Alaskan Hero. It's the second book in her Alaska series. The first is Alaskan Hearts. She writes very sweet romances with strong Christian themes. Her stories lift my spirit, always touching something going on in my life at the time.

Of course, there's an extra special place in my heart for her stories because she always includes dogs.

The first Teri Wilson book I read was Cup of Joe. I loved it and have purchased every one of her books I could find.

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