On the news Sunday night was a clip about all the Thanksgiving shopping, and they were say that while the Friday after Thanksgiving is “Black Friday, ” the following Monday, this past Monday, is known as “Online Monday,” one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. They went on to explain that while this is a great boon to online retailers, the companies that all these online shoppers work for loose half a billion dollars in productivity. Yes, half a billion dollars is lost on Online Monday because everyone is busy hitting Amazon.com, Overstock.com, BlueNile.com (hint, hint, honey, … Read more »

Okay, I lied. I wasn’t planning a traditional, family laden Thanksgiving. All the while I was feeding you all recipes and encouraging a Martha Stewart marathon, I was packing my bags and cookware and getting the heck out of Dodge. And quite frankly, I don’t feel guilty. Not in the least. Because the four of us, instead of spending the Thanksgiving weekend working on cleaning and cooking and then cleaning again and resorting to Black Friday spent four days:

In Seaside, Oregon. Yes, this the northern Oregon coast in the late November. And it was a balmy 56 degrees. At … Read more »

This week always makes me ask myself what am I thankful for–which is probably something we should all be doing every day, but this is the week for blessings and here are mine:

1) My family. All of them. My husband and kids. My mom and dad. My brother and his family. My husband’s family–he’s got all these wonderful siblings and lots of nieces and nephews and they are all really great people. I am thankful I knew all my grandparents, even my great-grandmother, and will carry with me the stories and lessons they shared with me. To me, family … Read more »

So the real countdown happens now as I start making the dishes for Thanksgiving ahead of time. It really helps to get as many things “fixed” before hand so that the BIG day is relatively pain free. Here are two dishes I always make ahead of time, usually on Tuesday:

Fresh Cranberry Relish

2 bags of fresh cranberries
1 clean and blemish free seedless orange
1/2 – 1 cup of sugar
Food grinder

Rinse the cranberries and sort out the mushy ones and the ones that are really white. Grind the berries through the food grinder (I have a attachment … Read more »

Yes, the countdown to Thanksgiving has begun. If you read The Goddess Blogs, you might have seen my comments about disastrous Thanksgivings which the ever wonderful Kathryn Caskie wrote about, but usually around here, Thanksgiving in like my own personal Super Bowl. Tons of planning, working out hauling groceries into the house, and of course all the cooking that I get done ahead of time. Yes, ahead of time. So if you are cooking Thanksgiving this year, don’t make the rookie mistake of thinking that you have to cook the entire meal that day. Are you kidding? You’d … Read more »

And I have Niki Burnham to thank for my newest time sink. Yes, I got tempted by an all-knowing, utterly hip YA author to make a go of MySpace and now I am addicted. It’s like going back to school all over again, but in a healthy way, at least so I hope. I sit down at my computer and think, “Who can I friend now?”. I mean, there’s a whole world of people to meet out there. It’s like Ravelry for the non-knitting set. (Okay, if you are a non-knitter that reference just went right over your head. But … Read more »

Recently, there was a poll in England for the most ridiculous British laws still on the books. As a writer of British set fiction, I try very hard to adhere to what is lawful and historically accurate. So I’ve made a note of what not to do in my books, as being both ridiculous and unlawful:

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament. (Thankfully, I haven’t done this to anyone, but I am sure there are plenty of times I’ve wanted to send a really annoying character off to their death. Now I know where not … Read more »

I’ll be filling my chair here, and settling in this Tuesday night (11/6) at 9 pm Eastern time to chat live with anyone who wants to drop by Coffee Time Romance with questions, comments, or if you just want to eavesdrop, that’s allowed as well. I’ll be joined by my fellow Avon author, and recent Speed Dating Librarian wingman, Jenna Petersen. I’ll be dishing dirt on my two series, hinting about Hermione’s book and generally causing rowdiness. As much as you can with a latte in one hand and trying to type intelligently with the other. Drop by!… Read more »

Gads. I’ve been terrible about getting something together about the weekend–perhaps its because I’m still trying to get caught up after a whirlwind month of social engagements. My husband was a tad grumpy the other day and I asked him what had his boxers in a knot (okay, perhaps that wasn’t the most gracious way to ask and by way of marital harmony, I could have phrased it a little better) and his reply was: “Well, you’ve been gone. Like the entire month. And I’ve had to deal with the kids and every thing.” Do you see the hands up … Read more »