I don’t know about you, but I for one am totally OK with waving goodbye to 2005. I certainly hope 2006 is much better for all of us! I’ve been making my New Year’s Resolutions…. I used these places:

http://resolution.geek-foo.net/ which told me:
In the year 2006 I resolve to:
Become a slut.

And this place: http://www.ryumaou.com/hoffman/resolution.shtml which told me:
I will start kissing strangers again!

So it seems I’m going to be verrrrrra busy in 2006. Heck, I’d wager pretty popular, too.

HEY!! A Shout Out to my WONDERFUL Website Designer, Brandon Dennis of Writer Webs for making this really COOL PAISLEY CURSOR!!! I love it!!!

So… until next year (ain’t that the corniest? Yet, it never gets old to use that line on NYE) ….

Along with wishing you all a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR I wanted to share this recipe to especially for those who follow the tradition of eating Black Eyed Peas and Cabbage (The black-eyed peas are considered a symbol of good luck; and the cabbage is considered a symbol of money.) I don’t have a cabbage recipe to share, but this is a yummy casserole for black eyed peas — especially for those who don’t particularly like Black Eyed Peas (like Hunter, but he loves this casserole — especially after 4 or 5 scotchs.. go figure).

This is also good to bring to Holiday potlucks and get togethers like: Thanksgiving, Christmas, but ESPECIALLY New Years.

BLACK-EYED PEA /CORNBREAD CASSEROLE

1 pound ground pork sausage I use either SPICY or the 50% less fat Jimmy Dean kind.
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup white cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained I use peas with jalapenos already in them… but you can use any type
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup cream-style corn
1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers Don’t need to use this if you use the hot sausage or the peas w/jalapenos in them already.
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles

COOK sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain.
COMBINE cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda.
STIR together eggs, buttermilk, and oil until combined. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. (Batter will not be smooth.) Add sausage mixture, peas, and remaining ingredients to batter, stirring well.
POUR into a greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
BAKE at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden and set.

Hey — tell me if you use it, ok? I wanna know what you think. I think it’s deeeee-lish (I got the recipe from a co-worker about 10 years ago).

In the spirit of New Years…. My song tonight does not have a color in it, but I’m still gonna tamper…..

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of Auld Lang Syne.

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear PAISLEY,
for Auld Lang Syne,
we’ll take a cup of HUNTER’S scotch
for Auld Lang Syne.

Who else eats cabbage and black eyed peas on New Years? We have to — every year. It’s tradition. We gotta! I’ll tell ya, though — I’m not that keen on the ol’ black eyed peas (and I’m not talking about the group w/Fergie, etc… although I don’t really care for her — eek, I’m getting sidetracked!) Where was I? Oh yeah… well, I’ve learned to tolerate the cabbage and peas, but Hunter is celebrating with us this year and he’s telling me it’ll take a lot of liquor to make him down those two food items at the dinner table. So.. I’m thinking of mashing it all up and pouring it into a highball for him. Whattaya think? Cabbage-peas-on-the-rocks! Yummy.

On the writing front (and back) I’ve been dutifully editing (thanks to my great friend and kimosabe, S.R. — hey figure it out by looking over there —> on my friend’s list. Duuuuh!) She’s an angel I tell ya and an absolute whiz with the editing. If it was still hip to say it, I’d say: “Dayam, she be da bomb-diggity, yo!” But that’s not hip, and I just look stupid. So fahgettaboutit.

Found this cute little ticker thingie.. and I think I’ll use it to feed my obsession:

Ain’t it cool? So I was asked how I liked AMERICAN GODS (see comment from last entry) and if you come back, Bonnie — I’ll say that it was pretty darn good indeed. I liked it quite a lot. I like Gaiman, but I tell you one thing, I rented NEVERWHERE the “series” (I think it must have been on the BBC or some such) but it looked like it’d been filmed with a camcorder. It was really bad.. and the premise was so good, too! I’m a little sad to see that they did that to his story. But hey, maybe that’s what he wanted? I dunno.. I shudder to think that. But hopefully (fingers crossed) his and Terry Pratchett’s (my other FAVE writer) GOOD OMENS will be a good flick when it comes out. I hope so — Terry Gilliam is directing, and he’s really (IMHO) a visionary. I like his stuff quite a lot!

Wow… I truly did ramble on tonight, didn’t I? Well, I only have a few days left of Dec. EEEEEEEEEEEK! Then it’ll be a couple of weeks of me writing this: January 2005 2006. gah! Gotta hate that!

Until later…. Yeah!

My mind’s such a sweet thing
I wanna do everything
What a beautiful feeling
PAISLEY and clover
Over and over

I really think I should win the lottery. I mean, I’m due for it, I think. Sure it’d help if I actually BOUGHT a ticket, but dadgummit, I hate being broke. Blah. I feel like that chick in Jerry Maguire (yeah, her name is Renee Zellwegger, but her CHARACTER’s name in the movie eludes me). Anyway, when she’s in Jerry’s office and she’s telling the football player and his wife that Jerry’s “Broke. Broke, broke, broke. BROKE!” That’s eggggsactly how I feel. And so I need a winning lottery ticket. Yup. Sure do. Or a golden ticket. That’d be cool too. I’d probably eat the wrong thing though… I’m no Charlie Bucket that’s for sure.

Oh! I found some cool stuff whilst surfing ye olde net this afternoon. Look at this! It’s neato-keen!

* These art pieces are all made out of CANS — nothing to hold them together — just stacked cans:
Canned Art

* And this one is chock-full of wonderful sculptures made out of shredded tires! It’s amazing stuff!
Tire Art

I was out blog-hopping and came across the funniest story about what happens when a dog meets baby Jesus and finds him tasty. I laughed til I cried… mainly because I HAVE a dog like this and the Baby Jesus’ “understudy” is hilarious… check it out here!

So yeah, that’s it. I’m off for 4 days. I’ll be buying beaucoup lotto ticcies and praying. Yeah… court went that well. Ugh!

I need to chill…. because…

I like the way your sparkling earrings lay,
against your skin so PAISLEY
and I wanna sleep with you in the desert tonight
with a billion stars all around
’cause I gotta peaceful easy feeling
and I know you won’t let me down
’cause I’m already standing on the ground

Yeah Yeah, I’m still bah-humbugging. I worked all day today with more of the same in store for tomorrow. But then……. THEN…… I’m off for 4 days! YAHOO!

Have you checked out Miss Snark’s CrapFest? OMG it’s great! I’m soooooo happy I didn’t submit my synopsis there (of course, it’s winging it’s way to Michelle G as we speak, so I’m hoping it’s not as bad as some of the synopses I read today). But she tells it like it is — very upfront and in your face — and by dammit, those ppl better listen or get off the proverbial pot! Pfffth!

Nothing new to report, really. Between being entertained with Miss Snark and work, life’s been pretty normal. Tomorrow I have to appear in court! Ohhhh… I hate that whole idea. I’ll let you know — if they let me use sharp things like a keyboard afterwards, that is. Eek!

Til then, my boopies….remember:

Money talks
But it don’t sing and dance
And it don’t walk
And long as I can have you here with me
I’d much rather be
Forever in PAISLEY jeans

* POPS HEAD UP * Is it safe to come out again? No little old ladies with a bargain on the brain and a coupon in their hand, huh? Yippee! I know I’m a Scrooge, but ick… I was so unprepared for it this year. On the other hand, Hunter and I celebrated with some wonderful Mexican Coffee he whipped up for us to sip in front of the fire yesterday. Please try some, it’ll warm you right up! Hunter used big mugs (like 12 oz or so) and added:

Mexican Coffee A La Hunter:
1 jigger (shotglass) of Kahlua
1 jigger of Rum
Coffee (we had Decaf) filled up til about 1-1/2 inches to the rim
3 teaspoons of sugar (or to your taste.. this was pretty sweet)
A big dollop of Whipped Cream
Mix together and put whipped cream on top.

All I can say again is YUMMMMM!

So I was trying to find some good dirt on the latest goings-on in Romance-Land and stumbled across this site: Romance Writer. Where it actually came up with a story on the fly! It’s MAGNIFICENT! Poetry in motion, I tell ya! have a looksee:

It’s called: TROUBLE UNDER THE TREES:

Waiting alone in the chill gloom of the crypt, with the far-off clamour of the playing fields wafting in from outside, Beth thought once more of Lyle ‘Sneaky Legs’ Malone, the bold bandito who had been so gentle in her arms. He was now, according to Countess Genevieve, the hapless captive of mind-devouring space aliens.

Then came a knock at the door, and she shut her eyes tight for one moment of silent prayer. He was here! “Come to me, my perfect little carrot!” he murmured in that unforgettable hypnotic drawl, nervously adjusting his artificial leg, and as he dabbed at her tears with the handkerchief she herself had made for him, she knew that at last he was hers - and that only death could part them.

Amazing, huh? I know! And get this — they do haikus too! Listen to this gem (try to keep up, it’s deep, baby);

The helpless cave speaks
Where smiling caverns flutter.
Does the hard grove dive?

Under the tight hand,
While the sighing maple grows,
I fail; the beach looks.

The dismal rose dreams
Where helpless maples flutter.
Does the dry root crawl?

Wow. No words to describe that one. All that fun and more can be found at FAMILY GAMES. Tell ‘em Romance Writer/Haiku Writer sent you.

OH! Ok.. on the writing front. I mailed my proposal to Michelle Grajkowski yesterday. Yes sirree bobcat I did. Now… I chew off the nails (or rather, what’s left of them). I vowed to get something sent out by the end of the year and by golly, I did it! It’s off and winging it’s way priority-style to Madison, Wisconsin! HOOO YEAH!!

And like I always say:

See that guy all dressed in PAISLEY?
I-ko, i-ko, un-day. he’s not a man;
He’s a lov-in’ ma-chine,
Jock-a mo fee na-né!

…and I’ll be SOOO HAPPY when it’s over! Yeah yeah, I know…

I cooked a big meal tonight for my whole fam damily. I made ham, green beans, mac-n-cheese (homemade, mind you), homemade mashed potatoes and okra. We were stuffed! But yummy — what a great mound of leftovers we’ll have for tomorrow. I absolutely refuse to cook on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day in the mornin’..

Oh, I was actually going to write some legit pubbing news today. I wanted to share the line I’m looking at targeting (or hoping my agent — whom I’m hoping will be Michelle G) the new erotica line from Kensington. Here’s what Cynthia Sterling said in her newsletter earlier this month:

Kensington Publishing is calling its new erotic romance line Aphrodisia. The bi-monthly imprint will be available in both trade paper and ebook releases. There are no submission guidelines on the website, but at the RWA National Conference this summer, Editorial Director Kate Duffy said they’re looking for 25,000 word novellas or 90,000 word novels. She will accept material from unagented authors “no matter what the website says.” The website is http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

I love Kensington books.. but their website is pretty… well… it’s not the most user-friendly and it never has any info for writers as far as tip sheets, etc. But who knows.. use the link above and browse around and see what you can find there. Like I said… love the books, but the website (from a writer’s perspective) — meh.. not lovin’ it so much.

Oh! Went to see King Kong. Yes, I cried like a baby! I loved Kong!!! The film itself was awesome, I mean Peter Jackson really did a primo job of capturing the 30s. Take a look:

That’s a street scene in NYC. Ain’t it cool? Really looks like you’re back in the day, huh?

And here’s Kong with those soulful eyes. SOB! This is at the end. DOUBLE-SOB! I was bawling like a baby about this time in the movie…

I gotta go set out the cookies for Santa Baby… Hope he brings you everything you ask for and more!

O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas Tree,
How steadfast are
your branches!
Your boughs are Paisley
in summer’s clime
And through the snows
of wintertime…

Okay, I’m definitely going to give props to my friend and writing buddy, Gina (at RWU we call her “Vicki”, so don’t get confused if I call her by a different name!) Anyway, as I was pondering my synopsis (between yanking out clumps of hair) I looked through some how-to’s that had been submitted to the group. And Lo and Behold if I didn’t stumble across Gina’s called The Top Ten Questions For a Successful Synopsis Oh Man, it was a piece of cake! All I did was answer questions and the synopsis wrote itself! So I’m a happy camper and I’m seriously considering nominating Gina for some kind of Writer Sainthood. Gotta find out who I talk to about that.

So I’m off today, doing revisions. I’m going to send the Priority Mail off on Monday (post-holiday post-office is a much nicer experience than what’s going on now. Eeek!) and then sit back and gnaw off what little nails I have left. *sigh* I used to have some pretty decent-looking nails. Now… now I feel like Eliza Doolittle. “l say, Cap’n, now buy a flow’r off a poor girl.”

Well, it’s nearly Christmas! YAY! Big fat jolly man gonna gimme some presents. Woot! I tell you what tho… I’d certainly trade in any purchased gift for a contract. Yes indeedy, it’s true. Just a sale would keep me all year and then some. I shall bask in that fantasy for awhile I think… it makes me all warm and tingly!

Anyway… have a holly jolly Christmas! Here’s a little holiday eye candy!

The holly Paisley, the ivy green,
The prettiest picture you’ve ever seen
Is Christmas in Killarney
With all of the folks at home…

So yeah. I missed another day. Oh well. I was tired and Shrek I and II were calling me. So… what’s a gal to do? Well, tomorrow is my last day of work til after the Christmas holiday. Everyone is bringing presents, etc and I brought a cake the other day (it was good… peppermint swirl cake) and I’m thinking of maybe bringing a breakfast casserole tomorrow. Only problem is, I have to have it ready for tomorrow morning and I dont’ get home for another hour or so. So…. it shall be a late night for me. Ugh!

On the writing front: I wrote and revised my synopsis yesterday and printed it out. I honestly think I’m going to wait until after the Holiday spazz to send it out to Michelle Grajkowski w/3 Seas simply b/c everyone is so nutty at this time of year rushing to the Post Office. Ick! My postage stamp reads Dec 17th… that shouldn’t matter, should it? Oh well. I just want it out before the end of the year. That was my goal and damned if I didn’t make it. Woot!

I have a confession to make. I ate a whole tin of Wintergreen Altoids today. EEEEEEEEK! Yes I did. I’m so hopped up on sugar I can’t sit still. But man, my breath is FRESH!

So that’s all the news that’s fit to print (or interesting enough to relate here) for one day. I hope to be able to keep up every day with the blog… we shall see.

I’ll try and list some actual writing news (not just my own) as well. Here’s the latest rumor I’ve heard from Cynthia Sterling’s group:

Harlequin has announced the discontinuation of its Signature program. Special projects, anthologies, continuities and reprints were released under the Signature imprint beginning in January of this year, as well as special single titles (such as my own Learning Curves in October). Each book also featured bonus features. The last Signature will be released in June 2006. Other titles already bought for the line may be redistributed elsewhere in the Harlequin publishing program.

In the wake of the announcement about the cancellation of Signature came news that Harlequin has plans to launch a new paranormal romance series, to be overseen (at least initially) by Executive Editor Leslie Wainger out of the New York office. Ms. Wainger is looking for all kinds of ‘dark’ paranormal — but more than just vampires and werewolves. The paranormal elements should be integral to the story, and not just a frame work or window-dressing for a traditional romance. The sensuality may vary, but no erotica, please.

That said, remember: with your Christmas of white, I’ll have a blue, Paisley Christmas

OMG How did that happen? I missed a day of posting! Is this the beginning of my downfall? I hope not! Grrrr. I didn’t mean to miss, I just got waylaid by LIFE. (Ick) And Xmas shopping. (Double-ick) And people. (Triple-ick with an armpit noise) Did you ever notice (she said in her best Andy Rooney voice) how incredibly STUPID people get around the holidays? I mean beyond the “norm” stupid. It’s like stupid to the nth power stupid. GAH!!! And they forget how to drive. And forget simple courtesies like holding a door open RIGHT AS THE NEXT PERSON IS WALKING IN!!! That probably pisses me off the most. That — and loitering idiots. You know the type… “Hmmm. I’ll stay here and just stare. Or perhaps I’ll cram my finger up my nose and see how far it’ll go. Surely I’m not in anyone’s way. Waitaminnit — what am I doing? Thinking of other people? OMG scratch that! Just me and my finger and my nose. The world is insignificant.”

I found a virtual nose-picker in the post office yesterday. I went to get a Priority Mail stamp out of the machine, right? Okay… so I put a $5.00 bill in there and it spits out a $3.85 priority stamp. Well, I was going to get another one, but I had to dig for more change, so I hit the “NO MORE TRANSACTIONS” button on the ultra-intelligent machine and it yammers to me, “THANK YOU. CANNOT DISPENSE CHANGE AT THIS TIME. TRANSACTION HAS BEEN NOTED.” So I’m like.. “Uh… what?” Like HOW are they going to know it’s ME who lost my money? Did they take a retinal scan? Or maybe they’ll dust the machine’s buttons for my prints (I hit C-2, BTW). The wonderful self-service of the USPS always amazes me in it’s absolute ineptness.

Anyway, back to the nose-picker du-jour who was also at the PO at that hour. It was a woman, mid-to-late-40s I’d say and she was missing the bottom part of her chunky heel — so each time she’d walk from the OTHER self-serve machine to the counter to make out another address label, she sounded like a pirate with a hollow leg. Click-Clunk! Click-Clunk! Click-Clunk! So I was thinking — “Be nice, Paisley. It’s Christmas. Maybe she has a disability… yadda yadda yadda.” Well I give her 10 minutes to wrap up her Click-Clunk business and get the hell out of the way. But she is taping and sticking and licking and looking over all these pkgs she already has ready to send down the chute. NOTHING IS KEEPING HER STANDING IN FRONT OF WHERE *I* NEED TO BE!!! [Seethe] She just keeps on with the: lick, click-clunk, ponder, stick, click-clunk, look, scratch, stamp, click-clunk…

I’VE HAD IT NOW! I clear my throat and I look right at her and she shrugs and click-clunks about her business - totally ignoring me!! Oooh, that’s when I turned on my passive-aggressive behaviour (as is the Xmas custom). I sidled right up behind her and entered her “PERSONAL SPACE” (OoOOooOoOoOooOoO, yes I did!) and I guess it creeped her out enough to realize she was in the way. She finally click-clunked over to the desk and stayed put for a few while I got my Priority Stamp. This stamp, BTW is the one I’m using to mail my partial to Michelle at 3 Seas… so Click-Clunker was trying to stand in the way of my dream!! Don’t ya see? (Hey, it could totally be interpreted that way, I think). Anyway, I got my stamp and I’m glad I only got ONE of the stamps from THIS particular fancy-schmancy machine because it actually date-stamps the stamp and I didn’t need to do that for my SASE that I’m sending. Did I use the word STAMP enough in this paragraph? So it worked out all right– even if I did spend five bucks on a stamp (yeah, I said stamp again). Keep your fingers crossed that Michelle doesn’t have to use that stamp (last one, I promise) to send my ms back (that’ll mean a rejection).

So that’s all the news I missed telling you yesterday. Aren’t you glad you stopped in? Hee Hee!

Meanwhile, I’m singing more Christmas Carols.. here’s one of my favorites:

Paisley and Gold… Paisley and Gold… Everyone wishes for Paisley and gold … (Heh — betcha thought I was gonna say “Silver and PAISLEY” huh?)

So I told you about how I applied for these webring thingies, right? Well I was denied by two of them. One, okay, I understand that one because s/he wants the ring on the actual blog itself and not on a ring page (too bad, so sad b/c I’m keeping them FOR NOW on a ring page out of the way. I tend to clutter my blogs). Anyway, the other one was a real rokkit syantist. S/he obviously didn’t check out my actual site before DENYING me. I think the name of the blog was BLOG O’HOLICS.. let me check. Yep — thems wuz da jeen-yesses Here’s what they said in my denial:

The web site you submitted to Blog O’ Holics Ring has been denied due to the reasons cited below by the RingMaster.

Your page is not a blog!

Wow. Kinda harsh, huh? And to think all this time I actually was under the iimpression this here thang’s a blog doo-hickey! Boy is my face red!

Meh. I don’t care. I don’t think the rings bring in that much traffic anyway. *Shrug*

So, on to the writing news: My crit partner-in-crime came through for me BIG TIME and line-edited all 3 chapters. I told her she shoudl be sainted. There wasn’t a whole lot (thank GOODNESS!!). Tomorrow we work on the dreaded synopsis. Ick! I’d rather gouge out my own eye than write one of those. *Cry*

I dunno about you guys, but I’ll be thrilled with the whole holiday wingding is over with. I’m so hopped up on sugary treats that people bring to work and deliver to my door and that I steal from small children that I could SCREAM! Theyr’e going to find me one day, just a big puddle of goo and then they’ll learn their lesson about feeding me after midnight! Um… whatever. I screw up my cliches and horror flicks sometimes.

Join me later for some more fun on the Paisley Blossom Special!