The Five Foods You Eat in Heaven

Ponder with me for a moment ...

Is there food in heaven? 

I do realize that technically there would be no need for food once we leave this life, but don't you think there should be food in heaven? Does food not bring happiness, joy, as well as togetherness? Anytime you plan a get together with family and friends, is that not a primary focus of the event? --But what will we eat??? It is my humble philosophy that if food is essential to life, it will be integral in heaven as well.

So tell me : What five foods will you eat when you get to heaven? Here's my list:

#1. Nuts

#2. Cheese

#3. Avocados 

#4. Red Velvet Cake

 

#5. My Hubby's Orange Rolls

Excuse me for a second while I go wipe the drool from my chin.

Do you know what's the best part about eating food in heaven? You don't gain a single pound, nor do you need digestive aids to help with a lack of fiber in your diet.

Now it's your turn: What FIVE foods are so heavenly that surely they must be found on the other side?

Wimpy Winner

Just because I am shameless, I wanted to show you this:

I was there until 8:30 last night. Wasn't that about the same time you were doing the bedtime routine so you can be out the door at 8 a.m.? I'm really sorry about that. Must stink to be you. (Yes, you are free to tease me when our school starts on the 6th ... of September!)

This week's winner gets something that will bring you back to your childhood, something that will remind you how painful it is to have kind, loving parents. :)

I love these books. Poor Greg. The guy can't seem to get humiliated enough.

And this week's winner is: #4. The Rowley's! Yay! It's about time.

You have the good-luck karma. I think you should read this book to your little lady: she will love it. Email me to claim your prize. 

Enjoy the rest of the school week everyone! (Ok, now that was just uncalled for. My fingers went rogue! Sorry about that.)

I'm so embarrassed!

Are you ready to load your youngins up and send them back to school? Today is the big day for much of the nation. Fortunatley for us, we have two more weeks. Yes, that's right. Two. It's awesome. And I'm not a bit ashamed to rub it in. We're going to the lake today, and your kids will be writing essays about going to the lake.

I'm sure you've heard of this guy by now, but anytime I see a school bus, I think of him. His name is Dale and last year, he dressed up in a different costume every morning to send his son off on the school bus. His teenage son. Apparently, Dale and his wife rushed out to wave at the bus on the very first day of school and later that day, his son told the mom to make sure dad never does that again. And dad said, game on! Dale donned a different costume every day of the school year all in attempts to embarrass his son. Here are some of my favorites:

I would like to note that the wedding dress was also backless. Hubba hubba. I would also like to note that yes, that really is a potty on their sidewalk.

Obviously Dale has a great sense of humor, but if I was his teenage son, I don't know that I'd appreciate it all that much.

Which brings up this week's topic: what have your parents done to embarrass you?

Mine's pretty simple: my dad used to speak in Pig-Latin at the drive thru at KFC. Yes, I tried to hide on the floor of the car, I was that embarrassed. Doesn't seem like such a big deal now, but at the time, I was mortified. I don't think it helped that he was driving a loud, hillbilly pick-up that also drew all sorts of (negative) attention.

So will you share your pain with us?  And I would also like to note that I think Dale should be Father of the Year. Such diligence! Such determination! Such ... humility!

A selfish winner

Hi! Thanks for letting me take the week off guys. It was fab.u.lous.!

You will be proud of me; I wore sensible shoes and I have a grand total of zero blisters. Wow, imagine that.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed with you guys. I can't believe not a single one of you mentioned chocolate. Chocolate and "Me Time" should be synonymous with one another. I do hope that it was merely an oversight that no one mentioned this, as it is your prize.

It's an all-chocolate cookbook. But even better than that, all the recipes are made with brownie mixes. So simple! That means you get more time to sit and read (or go out for a jog if you happen to be crazy).

Since I'm in such a good mood, I'm going to throw in a brownie mix too. And not just any brownie mix; a Lehi Roller Mills mix. Delicious!

And the winner is ...

Me! Lucky comment number nine. Didn't I say that it's all about me this week?

Ok, so I didn't win. It's number four. Livingstonslifeinmt. Finally! You've been with us since the start. Way to persevere! I'm so happy for you!

And LLMT, I do expect you to make me something out of that cookbook. :)

I'll see you guys back here next week, which is when I will be starting my post-Utah diet and detox. Oh what fun!

In which I become narcissistic

Now that summer is almost over, I'm finally heading off on my first vacation (at least one that lasts longer than 2 days). I couldn't be more excited about the fact that I get to spend ten hours in a car with five noisy kids and one smelly dog. Why do we do such things? I must ask.

Oh, because I get to go here:

I look forward to this week all year. This is my "me" week. I get to go exercise my brain. Nourish my spirit. Have ice cream at The Creamery. Get blisters on my feet from trying to be fashionable as opposed to comfortable. (I said trying. That doesn't mean accomplished.) Silly me.

So it's a simple, no-brainer post this week. What do you do during your "me" time? How do you recharge your batteries?

And ... since I'm away from the office (aka the kitchen table), we're going to extend the window on this week's contest. The comment thread will be open all the way until Friday night. The winner will be announced Saturday. I know the suspense will kill you!

But don't get bored while I'm gone. Remember that there's an interview with me here, as well as a chance to win a paperback copy of Generations. 

Plus, I'm going to leave you with something so super-awesome that your computer might spontaneoulsy combust. This is seriously hot. So hurry and back up all your files before you scroll down.






Kay. You ready?








 I can't be held liable for any computers catching fire. So really, back up your files.









Finished?








You ready this time? Because here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Set your heart on fire. Catalyst: Wilder Times. 

Coming next month.

I Love Winning!

Glad to know I'm not alone in my obsession. And you guys gave me some good ones to look up. Now I have a bunch I can watch next time the malefolk are gone.

Oh, and in my love-induced stupor, I forgot to tell you guys about something. There's a book blog that features a lot of book giveaways, and guess whose book is on there? Mine! So if you want another chance to win a paperback copy of Generations, here's the link. And! The post also features an interview with the author of Generations. Oh hey--that's me! The giveaway ends 9/1/11.

As I mentioned, the prize this week is something romantic. And since this blog is PG and I didn't want to make anyone blush, the prize is ... candles. Hey--is that why we all like Jane Austen so much? They lived by candlelight. That must be why they had such powerful romances. Hmm. I might have our electricity disconnected.

This should set the mood

And the winner is ...

Amy! Again with the beginner's luck! Congrats. Contact me to claim your prize!

See y'all next week. 

Wuv, twue wuv

Mawwage is what bwings us togever today. 

And it was marriage that brought us together 19 years ago. That's right ... 19! And I was 19 when we got married. That means from here on out, I will have been married longer than I was single. Pretty awesome. 

So what's the key to connubial felicity? How do you keep the romance alive? By watching lots of romance flicks, of course! There' nothing like a good romance to make you want to go squeeze your loved one. I especially like the romances that seem so unlikely ... where it seems so impossible that love will prevail. And those are the romances with the best kisses; the ones where you have to wait and wait and wait to see if the couple will ever come together. These are *squee* romances. And here are my favorite *squee* couples:

  Emma and Knightly (Emma, 1996)

 Jim and Pam (together, they make Jam) (The Office)

 Jordan and Angela (My So Called Life)

 Miss Hale and Mr. Thornton (North and South)

Eugene (aka Flynn) and Rapunzel (Tangled)

Now it's your turn. Who are your favorite *squee* couples? Real couples count too! Leave a comment and you could win something to *squee* about.

And a disclaimer. Marrying an incredibly kind, patient man will do more to preserve your marriage than will watching 1001 chick-flicks, no matter how squee-able the movies may be.

iWin

I loved reading about your dreams, and thanks to Livingstonlifeinmontana, we all have the song from Tangled stuck in our heads. Which, BTW, was that not the best Disney movie ever?

The coolest thing about this week's post is that I jokingly said something about joining the circus, and guess what? My friend Sally honestly could join a circus. She took flying trapeze lessons. Serious. I am in awe. That is a conversation stopper. Sally, you get the title of Coolest Mom Ever.

On to our winner ... it wasn't lucky number six. But so close.

It's Rosie. Beginner's luck! Rosie, you get a $10 iTunes gift card so you can download songs from your favorite musicals! (Didn't that work out nice? What would the prize have been if Princess Team C had won? A tiara?) 

Actual image on card varies. As does the amount of money remaining on the card after I get through downloading my favorite songs. Kidding.

See ya all next week. In the meantime, I leave you with this: 

PaulaShawn, it looks like that lady is going to need a replacement. You better hurry and get to NY!

Born To Rock

Before I begin this week's post, I have a couple of brief business items to discuss.

Numero uno: Do you make/distribute/illegally traffic an item? Yes? Well, I am looking for prize sponsors. If you would like to donate a prize from your etsy shop, ebay store, or yard sale, let me know. You'll get thousands of new faces pointed towards your business. Ok, maybe not thousands, but close.

Numero dos: Another book review of Generations has been posted on another great blog. Go take a peak.
Look at last week's post for links to two more reviews.

Speaking of reviews, I am still looking for some readers to post reviews on Amazon. It's super simple to do and hugely helpful to customers who are considering buying my book. And you can choose a screen name that I will never recognize, like MYNAMESNOTLORI.

So onto this week's post:

You already know that I'm a little strange. So I figured what the heck, I'll tell you even more about my oddities. Yet another thing that most people don't know about me is that I want to be a rockstar. Don't laugh, I'm serious.

If you are laughing, it's probably because you've heard me sing before. Or play the piano. I'll be the first to admit it: I don't have an ounce of musical talent. But that doesn't stop me from dreaming.

And it gets even weirder than an unmusical person wanting to be a musician. I don't want to be a chick rocker; I want to be a dude rocker.

Now before you quickly close the window to my blog and never come back, let me explain. Guys just have better rock voices. Girls are great for classical and country, but rock? Not so much. Plus, girl rockstars must not only have a great set of pipes: they also have to have a great set of ... ya know. Guys can be hideously ugly and still make millions.

See what I mean?

But, lest you think I want to be a rockstar so I can be a ugly dude making millions (because that would be weird) let me tell you why I would like to be reincarnated as Brandon Flowers.  I love music. Love, love, love it. Can't make it a day without it. Could you imagine what it would be like to actually hear music in your head and be able to sit down and ... compose?! It amazes me how people can take a simple note and make it into a symphony (or a three minute love-ballad). That's got to be one of the most fulfilling things in the world. And even more than just the music: the lyrics! I love good lyrics. The words are picked with such precision and emotion. A songwriter can't ramble (ala this post) nor can they skip essential details or the listener goes, "Huh? 'I’m as serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer?' That makes no sense!" As a writer, I've learned SO much from good lyrics.

So that's my strange desire: I want to have an alternate life as a male rockstar who composes great music and writes phenominal lyrics.

What about you? If you could have an alternate life and be ANYTHING, what would you be? Would you walk a tight-rope at a circus? Be a CEO of a huge corporation? Act on Broadway? Be a Unicorn Whisperer?

Do share. We promise not to laugh.