A Favorite Comfort Food Recipe

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

2 1/4 flour

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 C granulated sugar

1 3/4 C (15 oz can) Pumpkin

1/2 C oil

1 C frozen or sweetened dried cranberries

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt in large bowl.  

In a small mixer bowl, combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil; beat just until blended.

Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. 

Fold in cranberries. 

Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 to 10 minutes; remove to write rack to cool completely.

Beyond Pride and Prejudice

Hello, readers! 

I pose a question that has been asked many reading divas:

What is your favorite Jane Austen book?

Did the title come immediately to your lips? Did you just say your favorite quote outloud?

What is your favorite Jane Austen movie?

Did you smile as your favorite actor/ess took shape in your mind?

Here is a harder question:

Is your favorite book different than your favorite Jane Austen movie?

Hmmm.  Is that one harder?

For me, I love the book and movie "Persuasion".  And not a step behind is "Pride and Prejudice" both book and movie.

Now, here is a question I don't think I have been asked more than once-a-year:

Do you have a favorite offshoot of Jane Austen's books? 

Is there a book written after the manner or storyline of Ms. Austen that you have enjoyed reading? Maybe you've read the book more than once? 

I have a few and I list them at the bottom.  I don't

 feel disloyal to Ms. Austen.  If anything, my reading other Austen-esque books has given me a deeper feeling for her books. Not many authors or books rival Jane Austen's style and technique.  But there are many out there who try. Maybe this lazy summer you'll want to expand your readying to include a few offshoots of Jane Austen's books: 

Mr. Darcy's Daughters

The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy (Elizabeth & Darcy's daughter)

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor: Being the First 

Jane Austen Mystery

Pride and Prescience (Caroline Bingley)

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

Mr. Darcy's Diary

Lydia Bennet's Story

Mrs. Elton in America

Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma

None But You (Frederick Wentworth)

The Independence of Miss Marry Bennett

Mansfield Park Revisited

Jane Fairfax: The Story of the Second Heroine in Emma

Just Jane: a Novel of Jane Austen's 

Life

Mr. Knightly's Diary

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Becoming Jane: the Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen

Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners

Jane Austen Ruined My Life

Jane Austen for Dummies (YES. Another Dummy book)

Two Guys Read Jane Austen

OK! There are quite a few more but you get the picture! It might take more than one lazy summer to read the books! But you can start now while it's dreary and grey!

A couple of my favorites:

An Assembly Such as This

Austenland 

Pride and Prejudice Cliff Notes (I know! Weird! But I understood the book even more!)

Wives and Daughters (I don't think this is an offshoot of Pride and Prejudice but it's story line sure resembles it! I believe the two stories were writing in the same era)

Writing (not writing) update

I have been writing for a website that sends the articles to other websites.  If the reader clicks on an advertisement, I get a small portion of the $$.  So far my grand total for the month....58 cents! While the monetary rewards are small I feel the writing payoffs are big.  I write one or more articles a day so I have been practicing writing everyday just in a differnt format than novel writing. 

I submitted one of my stories to a contest. I don't expect to win but if I am in a certain percentage that gets picked, an editor will review my story. That is worth sending my story!

I plan on submitting my WWI story in March.  I need to do a bit of revision and plant soem hooks throughout the story.

I plan on submitting my YA LDS story in April. I am killing off one of my darlings so I need revise this story.

I am also submitting my taxes in February. I hope to use a little bit of the return to buy a new laptop!!

 Groundhog Day

I can't make this link work, sorry.  Here is the cut&paste if you want to read the teeny article I wrote.

http://www.socyberty.com/Holidays/Groundhog-Day.462879

Book Review

"Where Hearts Prosper" by Suzanne V. Reese

Suzanne is the aunt of my BFF from high school.  Though I met her YEARS ago when I was in high school, we became better acquainted over lunch.  I was enamored that I sat next to someone who would have her fist book published soon. I monopolized her and her time as I peppered her with questions about her book and the process of becoming published.  And I promised I would read her book. 

Where Hearts Prosper is a book about love, family and secrets. Carmen Anderson has spent her most of her life running away from a hurtful memories and the place she thought would rejected her.

Now she is a single mother career woman and her teenage daughter who is starting to act out. In an impulsive moment, Carmen decides to move back to her little hometown and its wholesome values. But is she running away again?

In Prosper, Carmen's daughter, Paige, finds family and friends and learns to serve and love others.  And Carmen finds she didn't need to leave at all.

Suzanne's story held my attention through the entire book.  I didn't want to put it down because there was always the question of what next?? How will the conflicts resolve? It almost drove me crazy to have those questions answered and I stayed up WAY too late finishing the book! :)

And now I ask Suzanne, what next? She told me she is working another project so keep your eyes open for Suzanne V. Reese, a new and upcoming author!

Quotable Monday

"A well composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter any other way" Caroline Gordon (1895-1981)

Triskaidekaphobia-the fear of the number 13

Where did the phobia of 13 come from? And do some still believe in it?

 Ancient Persians believed the twelve constellations in the Zodiac controlled the months of the year, and each ruled the earth for a thousand years at the end of which the sky and earth collapsed in chaos. Therefore, the thirteenth is identified with chaos and the reason Persian leave their houses to avoid bad luck on the thirteenth day...(Wikipedia)

Apparently, some people tried to stop superstitions all together. A dinner was club was formed called, "The Thirteen Club".  On Friday the 13th at 8:13 13 people met in the 13th room.   They walked under a ladder to get to the room and sat among piles of spilled salt.  No one died.

Many tall buildings do not have floors numbered '13'.  It's not like the builders were counting and said, "Who put this 13th floor in? Don't they teach you anything in school?"

"We can work through this.  Let's just pretend this floor never happened and work on 14!"

Many airlines have no 13th row; some airports have no 13th gate; their is no F-13 aircraft.  The manufacter made a F-12 and skipped right to F-14.

What about Friday the 13th? Who made that up? Was it an anniversary gone bad? 

"Honey, you know what today is don't you?" 

"Friday the 13th?" comes the reply from behind the paper.

"It's our 1 month no-throwing-dirty-diapers-at-each-other anniversary! How could you forget!" 

The man ducks as a dirty diaper splats against the wall behind him. (Based on a true story)

There is a Friday the 13th phobia.  I'm not lying. It's paraskavedekatriaphobia. Try saying that word three times. It is esteemated that $800-900 million in business is lost on this day because people refuse to go to work, fly or even get out of bed!

I think the number 13 can also be good. We had 13 stripes on the flag representing 13 colonies. Jesus plus his 12 disciples make 13.  I was proposed to on Friday the 13th and married on the 13th (Thursday). Our anniversary occasionly falls on Friday the 13th. 

Can you think of other good 13s?

In our home the rite of passage to 13 years-old happened not once but TWICE this week.  Meg and Ren had their 13th birthdays this year on seperate days. We have triple chocolate cake, pumpkin pie and an ice cream cake at our house 

(our 8yr old turned 9 a few days ago). Meg and Ren have invited 13 friends to their birthday party.  They got 13 presents between the two of them.  It takes them 13 minutes to get out of school and to the carpool.  I have to ask 13 times before they do their chores.

Are these good omens or just unlucky? This 13th year will tell.  There will be some good and not so good mingled together in 2009 but if the first 13 years of Meg and Ren's lives are any indication of what will come, the good will outweigh everything else. 

It took 7 not 13 years of anxiously praying and waiting before they were born into our family. My belly was probably 13 times bigger than it should have been! Ren waited 75 minutes after Meg was born before making his appearance (hence, born on different days)( I wish it had been 13 seconds or even 13 miuntes!).

But those two coming into my life have blessed me 13x13x13xinfinity. I truly love them with all the motherly love I have to give and beyond.  I have no way to pay a loving Heavenly Father back for the blessings He has giving me.

I think I will try and hug my children 13 times today.