Unsupervised in-house behavior. Oh, not good at all. Unsatisfactory.
Unsupervised outside behavior. Ha. Ask the UPS guy. And the neighborhood squirrels.
Digestion and food habits. Rug -- chewed, swallowed, deposited in back yard. Peanut Butter. Good. Will do anything for peanut butter -- humans best friend (and they say dog is). Dog food. Science Diet and Iams weren't expensive enough. We have now moved on to organic allergy free. Lily developed an allergy to her food (interesting since she has eaten things that would kill a lesser being). How do we know? The ears swelled and turned red and her sister licked them until she developed little scabs. Surely she had ear mites. Nope, the vet said it was a food allergy. The new food has been an adventure. The lamb and potato or maybe the venison and barley blend leaves an after odor. Like some folks have garlic scent that oozes from sweat glands and pores... Lily and Lola smell a little like a down-and-out drunk man in an alley. So, in an attempt to deal with this unpleasant side effect, Doggy Mama purchased the vegetarian flavor. Guess what that does? Think fiber and bubbles...very, very bad bubbles. Cuteness. Life saving A+ Tardies. Never late for dinner. Enthusiasm. Over the top.
When I'm struggling spiritually, my hope, my Pollyannaish rosy outlook tends to shrink and dwindle into hopelessness. My courage during spiritual testing becomes anemic and wobbly-kneed in my darkest moments of faithshaking.
Even when I realized that discouragement is a lie. It has to be. How can it be anything else? If, as a believer in Christ, I am to be an encourager and an encouragee in the body of Christ, then I am far, far away from encouragement if I am discouraged. If God talks about taking courage, standing strong, and being all the strength I need, then discouragement steals from courage.
How can I, a vessel of the Holy Spirit -- the very heart of Jesus, Himself, how can I be hopeless when I possess all I need to hope?
Mary Connealy is back with a new tangled-Texas-tale.
All aboard for a delightful, suspense-filled romance, where a Texan is torn between his attraction to a meddlesome schoolmarm and the charms of a designing dressmaker. When Hannah Cartwright meets Grant, she's determined to keep him from committing her orphans to hard labor on his ranch. How far will she go to ensure their welfare?
Grant Cooper is determined to provide a home for the two kids brought in by the orphan train as runs head-on into the new school marm, who believes he's made slave labor out of eight orphaned children. He crowds too many orphans into his rickety house, just like Hannah Cartwright's cruel father. Grant's family of orphans have been mistreated too many times by judgmental school teachers. Now the new schoolmarm is the same except she's so pretty and she isn't really bad to his children, it's Grant she can't stand.
But he is inexplicably drawn to Hannah. Can he keep his ragtag family together while steering clear of love and marriage? Will he win her love or be caught in the clutches of a scheming seamstress? If you would like to read the first chapter of Gingham Mountain, clickHERE
My Review:
Mary Conneally has a charming voice. She manages to give petticoats and prairie dust a hint of breezy chick-lit. Her western series has been an entertaining and a quick and satisfying read. Gingham Mountain follows previous characters and creates new situations in which she tortures her characters. Hannah and Grant and a whole passel of orphans burst out of the Gingham Mountain pages and into my affections.
If you are looking for authentic western historical details and language, you may want to look further into this series before plunking down your money. But if you are looking for entertainment, creative storytelling, charming characters and downright as much fun as a barn raising, get yerself to yer favorite book store.
More from Mary via a previous visit to the dregs, click here.
So, you all know I need lots of therapy. Maybe I'll start here.
Writers/novelists pay attention. Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck have collaborated on a how-to book. (I've read most of Rachel's stuff and I want to pick up whatever she's laying down.) They are also writing a novel with input from readers. Go here to chime in.
Do you already have your novel down on the page? Does it need a little THERAPY? Enter to win 10% off a Book Therapy Session (that’s a savings of $30+) by leaving a comment here telling us a brief synopsis of your story!
Click on the video about their My Book Therapy for more info. And here for even more info.
Wednesday we got a peek at Colleen Coble's new release, Cry in the Night. Make sure you scroll down and click to read the first chapter if you haven't yet. And visit Colleen's website and the Amazon page for more info. Now. Colleen was kind enough to come and play at the Dregs.
Thanks, Colleen, I love your crayon answer. : )
Fiction character you would most like to be or most identify with and why?
Bree from the Rock Harbor books has a lot of me in her. Okay, I don’t have a search dog (but I love dogs) and I’m not short with red hair, but I love pistachios and the wilderness. I’ve got a lot of Native American blood and I’m drawn to places that are still just a little untamed.
If you could change something in any novel, what would you change about it and why?
I would change the title of Anathema. People don’t know how to say it or what it means and it caused more confusion instead of illuminating what the book is really about.
What crayon in the box describes you on a good day? Bad day? Which one do you aspire to be?
Yellow. I’m an optimist and nearly always look on the bright side. Even on a bad day I’m likely only to tinge a bit to gold. LOL It drives some people crazy but I can’t help it. I’m always aware that God is in control.
If you were assured of writing a best-seller, what genre would it be? Give us a sliver of information, a characteristic or glimpse of a scene.
I write my favorite genre—romantic mysteries with a strong dollop of romance. I’m blessed to be living my dream of writing what I love to read. I love everything about the writing life—from the promotion to the actual writing.
What period of history intrigues you the most?
Funny you should ask that because the next book I’m going to be working on is a historical novel. I asked my publisher a couple of years ago if I could write my typical novel in a historical setting and my editor recently gave me the go-ahead. I’m still tossing ideas around but I’m particularly drawn to turn of the century novels.
What makes you feel alive?
I am energized by being around other people.
Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip.
Book: The Stand by Stephen King. I’ve read it at least 30 times.
Person: My husband Dave. I hate to go anywhere without him!
Food: DeBrand mocha truffles
Where would you most like to travel ----- moon, north pole, deep seas, deserted island, the holy land or back to a place from your childhood, somewhere else? – and why.
Australia! I’ve dreamed of going there since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to see its vast spaces and the Great Barrier Reef.
Favorite book setting and why?
Hawaii is magical place where I feel totally one with God. Maybe because it’s so gorgeous and serene.
What would you do today if you knew you had only a week to live?
I’d spend it making sure my family and friends know how much I love them. And I’d hold my baby granddaughter every minute!
Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?
The ability to fly so I could zip out to see my daughter in Arizona once a week!
Societal pet peeve…sound off.
I can’t stand the whole political correctness thing. I live in a small town in the Midwest where we don’t hold to such nonsense. LOL I just recently learned the gal who brings my food isn’t a waitress but a food server, according to the politically correct. Hey, SHE calls herself a waitress in my small town. I mean, it’s just getting ridiculous!
To continue the saga of life changes and chia seed. (Kim read my comment on Tuesday's post for Chia info.) (And this is a really bad picture of my Wii Mii stretching while those around her sleep. Hee Hee.)
I mentioned that I was asked to help our physician's assistant with a healthy lifestyle "curriculum." And I was chosen because I have Word on my work station and happen to be there more often than the other gal who has it.
The PA brought loads of material, some books, magazines, doctor recommendations and website addresses to my desk and we condensed the information into the whats and whys of healthy choices.
Most of them are common sense no-brainers. I.E. most fast food = bad choice. Exercise, even simple walking, is good. The more good choices that are made the better for your overall health. Simple enough. Our average patient age is probably fifty. We have loads of Medicare and a nice mix of twenty-somethings. But since we are internal medicine we tend to attract those with more than one chronic condition and more adult type issues like Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension. Some of our patients carry both of these conditions and high cholesterol. And since all three are managed by medication, many are looking at five and six meds. It makes sense then to do what we can to encourage patients to drop ten or twenty pounds and make better choices. Many of the health woes can be treated with diet and exercise and people can then weed some meds out of their life. Win. Win.
So as the PA and I are digging, we get caught up in the whole nutrition and Mediterranean diet and low glycemic index foods lists and the fact that many conditions benefit from eating healthy fats, whole grains, rainbow colored veggies and fruit.
Having been aware of food and the bazillion diet options I had heard of both of these types of eating plans. But the problem for me was the switch over to healthy from junk. How does one completely change the way they shop, think and eat? And what will the rest of the family do when confronted with a lack of Ho-Ho's, soda, white bread and greasy pizza?
The highly anticipated novel that delivers what romantic suspense fans have long awaited-the return to Rock Harbor.
Bree Nichols gets the shock of her life when her husband-presumed dead-reappears. Bree Nichols and her search and rescue dog Samson discover a crying infant in the densely forested woods outside of Rock Harbor, Michigan. Against objections from her husband, Kade, who knows she'll become attached, Bree takes the baby in. Quickly she begins a search for the mother-presumably the woman reported missing just days earlier.
While teams scour the forests, Bree ferrets out clues about the missing woman. But she soon discovers something more shocking: Bree's former husband-long presumed dead in a plane crash-resurfaces. Is he really who he says he is? And should she trust him again after all these years?
An engaging, romantic suspense novel from critically-acclaimed author Colleen Coble.
If you would like to read the first chapter of , go HERE.
My Review:
Bree has moved on, or has she?
Now married to Kade, Bree has discovered that Davy doesn't quite need her like she needs him to. And her frustrating baby alarm is sounding loud and clear. Into that challenging stew Coble adds many edge of the seat moments with Windingos, strangers, murder and facts that don't quite add up.
Colleen Coble tells a great story, one that made an impression, since I remembered so much about Bree and Davy months, and countless books since reading about their struggles.
I did struggle with a few moments of disbelief that refused to be suspended. Fans of Coble and those who want closure to Bree Matthews first marriage will want to get their hands on a copy of Cry in the Night.
