Motivate Me Monday

 Time to kick off 2017, and what better way than with a motivational post?

To the left is the front dashboard of my beautiful planner...I call him Tony, because (a) I think every assistant needs a name and (b) because he's a beautiful green leather binder, reminiscent of an old boyfriend.

Yea, I know...but it works for me :)

Years before cell phones became our life coordinators, I used a paper planner. Like a lot of people a few years ago, I realized though the phone is always in my hand, using it for organizing and noting things and doodling and writing bits of thoughts...just wasn't working for me and it was time to go back to paper.

And WOW has paper planning become a THING! I love Tony in all his beautiful green leather glory, the stickers, the pockets, the organization!

Yes, I feel like I CAN do anything!

WINTER COMES TO LONG ISLAND!

Saturday...this was the view from my front door. I am SO not a snow lover.

OK, It does look pretty.

The plus of being snowbound for the day? I spent some time organizing Tony so he could organize me!

I've made a commitment to be here on the blog twice a week...not sure what days that will just yet or what exactly I'm going to blog about, please leave me a comment if you have any ideas!

I'm also a member of the "Through Heart-Shaped Glasses" blog and we recently made the decision to kick the blog up a level with more interaction from our readers. We've created a group over on Facebook, where we'll be chatty about life, love and romance novels, and we'll be doing giveaways and fun stuff along the way.

Check us out!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/THSG.authors/

Happy Scribbling!

Banana Blueberry Bread and Tsu #Mondayblogs #recipe

 This weekend as I stared at the bananas on the counter I knew banana bread was going to be the weekend bread of choice...but I just can't seem to keep to the basic recipe and found myself adding blueberries to the batter.

The smell as it was baking filled my kitchen with sweet aromas, I knew this was going to be a winner.

Even the kids who turn up their noses when they see chunks of fruit in my bread grabbed a slice as soon as it was cool enough to cut.

Success!

Banana Blueberry Bread

2 Cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powde
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 Cup melted butter
1 1/2 Cup mashed bananas
4 oz. blueberries

Cinnamon sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of standard loaf pan.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix eggs and melted butter in a small bowl and then add to the dry mixture and combine. Mash up the bananas with a fork in the small bowl, add to the wet mixture. Fold in blueberries. Sprinkle the top with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 15 minutes, then release from pan on baking rack and continue cooling.
Enjoy.

* * * * * *

As 2014 winds down and I had finally thought I had a pretty good handle on the social media outlets that work for me...enter Tsu.

With a Facebook-like interface there is a fairly small learning curve, and with all the coming rules on Facebook that will only make it even more difficult for me to interact with fans and friends - this new venture just might pick up some steam. Already many of the authors I know and follow on Facebook are there. Will it take off? That's anyone's guess and although I don't relish the idea of adding another social media time suck to my already crowded day...I think I'm going to wade into the Tsu waters and see where it goes.

If you pop on over...look me up!

Apple Cranberry Pecan Bread and thoughts for the week

 Wow...I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged! I admit I've thought about coming back and getting into the blogging routine more than a few times, but like many bloggers out there - I found myself at a loss for words.

I know, shocking, right?

So, maybe the idea of being at a loss for words is bit extreme. But deciding on the direction of a blog can be downright stressful some days and I found I simply kept putting it on the back burner.

And while it was on the back burner, I did some thinking.

1. I really don't want to write a daily blog, I don't even want to commit to blogging three times a week...I've got a family, a job and I write books, do I honestly have to blog that often?

NO.

The new plan is to blog once a week - every Monday. If a bonus blog gets tossed in every once a while I can live with that, I hope you can too!

2. I love to bake, I love to shop...yup, I love my shoes and pocketbooks and makeup!

The truth is, I write about love, relationships and woman just like me...except sometimes they travel through time and even in my wildest dreams, I never really expect that to happen to me. :)

So, from now on, this blog is going to be about the things that I love. Recipes, shoes, makeup and probably blogs about my pets (because I DO have quite a few of those!)
 

I hope you'll join me here on Mondays!

APPLE, CRANBERRY, PECAN BREAD

1 loaf
preheat oven to 350 degrees
grease the bread pan, both bottom and sides

2 1/4 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 Cup orange juice
1/4 Cup butter, melted
1/4 Cup warm water
1/2 large apple, chopped
1 Cup fresh or grozen whole cranberries, chopped
1 Cup pecans, chopped

Sift four, sugar baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Combine egg, orange juice, melted butter and water in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and combine until moistened. Fold in apple, cranberries and pecans. Pour batter into creased pan. Bake 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Remove from pans. Enjoy!

See you next week!

Music Monday: Shake It Off

Confession 1: I am a morning person.
Confession 2: I love Monday.

I know, I'm strange...hey, I'm a writer, I admit I don't dance to the same beat as the rest of my world...but that's ok.

Why do I love Monday? Because it's the start of fresh week, a great place to start toward a new goal or continue on the path toward making a dream a reality.

Are there naysayers out there trying to bring me down and suck me into the abyss of negativity? Of course! Not everyone embraces the day the way I do.

Which is why this new song from Taylor Swift has gotten under my skin this week.





Hope your day and week ahead is filled with AWESOME and here's to shaking off the negative vibes!

Weddings, Writing and Smiles #MusicMonday

There is nothing that makes a romance writer happier than a wedding. And this year I've got 6 weddings on my family calendar...YES, that's 6 family weddings in a little over 12 months! Wowza.

Even though I am not one who can write with music playing in the background, I do take inspiration from songs I listen to when I'm NOT sitting at the keyboard. I can take the vibe and think about a scene I'm writing and hear the lyrics in my head - I just can't have it playing WHILE I'm writing.

And SMILE by Uncle Kracker is one of those songs. They played this at my nephew's wedding this past weekend and if you've eve been in love, it's pretty hard not to smile and sing along.

I hope it puts a SMILE on your face too as we start the week.





Do you have a song that can put a smile on your face - no matter where you are, what you're doing or how you're feeling?