Leaked Pics of What Heaven Looks Like


 
A friend of mine shared this on Facebook, and I had to pass it along. I am a dog lover of the highest order, as I believe they’re the very best creatures on this earth—and apparently, in the next realm, as well!. If you feel the same way, pass it on! (share buttons below)
 
via: Leaked pics of what heaven looks like | Memes.com
 

Win an iPad!

Just thought I’d bring your attention to this awesome giveaway. A FREE iPad or equivalent value. There’s a lot of Rafflecopter clickng involved, but hey, an iPad is worth $600. That’s a pretty nice prize! So spend 5 or 10 minutes over there, enter the giveaway, and meet some cool indie authors.
 
Enter the iPad Giveaway
 

Amazon $25,000 Sweepstakes and Free Apps & Games

The Amazon Android Appstore is celebrating its fourth birthday today by setting 105 paid apps and games free and offering a $25,000 sweepstakes. Amazon is anxious to start getting a bigger piece of the Android app market (well, okay, they’re anxious to get a bigger piece of every market 🙂 ), and this is their way of getting people in there. I’m heading over to enter right now, and you should, too!
 

Niagara Falls Freezes Over

Well, I’ve never been to Hell, but I’ve been to Niagara Falls, and I’ve never seen it like this! As a matter of fact, I was born in Niagara Falls and still have a few die-hard relatives up there. I hope they’re taking advantage of the opportunity to see it on one of its rare frozen-over days. Okay, it doesn’t actually freeze completely over, but the mist and falling water on top do freeze, creating the so-called ice bridge between the U.S. and Canada. It’s a rather incredible sight, as these pictures from the Daily Mail show.
 
Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the couple inches of pretty snow we got here in the southeast today. Down here, snow is a few times a year treat where the cities shut down, and the kids build snowmen. All this time trapped indoors, however, is helping me get Book 2 of The Gifted Ones series out the door. Be looking for it in the next couple weeks!
 
via: PHOTOS: Niagara Falls has frozen over
 

High School — Then and Now — Is This What We Want?

Go read this thing. It’s meant to be funny, but it’s so, so accurate. Is this really the direction we want our country to be heading? Where everyone is scared to death of everything that might possibly, conceivably, someday hurt them in some way? The world is not a safe place, people. It never has been. And contrary to what our leaders will have you believe, it’s a heck of a lot safer today than at any time in the past, and that’s despite, not because of, the numerous and sundry safety measures our governments have inflicted upon us. There will always be a balance between freedom and safety. If you don’t care about the freedom to drive a car wherever you’d like to go, to eat and drink the foods you choose, to live your life as you see fit, then don’t try to place those restrictions on others, even if you think your choices are superior. It’s their life, their body, and their decision! We can’t protect everyone from everything without sacrificing the joy of living.
 
via: Gettin High at High School (tickld.com)
 

Ah, Selecting the Perfect Christmas Gift

I saw this cartoon over at The Meta Picture, and couldn’t help but relate it to what I’ve been feeling for the last week or so. When Christmas shopping for loved ones, you want to find that perfect gift—that item that says “I know you. I know what you like. I know what’s important to you.” Or at least one that doesn’t scream, “I grabbed this off the check-out rack last night, while I was buying milk at the mini-mart.”
 

A Betty Crocker Thanksgiving

As any of you who read me regularly have probably gathered, I am no Betty Crocker and sure as hell not Martha Stewart. It’s not that I don’t like to cook or clean or decorate my house, so much as there are a hundred other things I’d rather be doing. When I do have a momentary lapse into domesticity, it usually turns out okay—that is to say, no one is poisoned, and the fire department isn’t on speed dial. Truthfully, my best such skill is sewing. When I was young, ready-made apparel was expensive, and the clothes didn’t come in “low-rise slim-fit boot-cut” and “mid-rise roomy ankle” and “curvy petite long” and every other fit combination, so there was a real advantage to being able to sew your own. Now that that is no longer the case, and my kids are too old for Halloween Costumes, my one domestic super-skill is now useless.
 
With that in mind, I decided to wander on over to Pinterest to look for some nifty Thanksgiving Day ideas for my home and family. Here’s what I found at Pinterest Thanksgiving Pins.
 
Rice Krispie Turkey Legs
Yes! I can do this. These are so cute and fun, and the recipe doesn’t involve baking, basting, roasting, or sautéing. I’m on it.
Pumpkin Skinny Dip
This low-calorie dessert dip is intended to delight your health-conscious Turkey Day guests. Right. Look, if it’s not going to pack a layer of flab on your fanny, I’m not including it in my holiday line-up.
Gourds & Greens Festive Table Decorations
Wait, you mean people actually do this? Other than professional home stagers, that is. Sorry, not happening. Besides, this would totally clash with the Autumn Leaves Chinet.
Sweet ‘n Spicy Chicken Bacon Wraps
OMG, for realz? Do you know how many ingredients this thing has? It takes five pictures just to show the steps! How am I gonna watch Miracle on 34th Street with this going on? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Five Ingredient Easy Crock Pot Creamed Corn
Yo, domestic goddesses, got a tip for ya: you can buy this stuff ready-made. That’s one ingredient. I’ll loan you my can opener.
Holiday Fork Caddy
Why? Seriously, why?
Autumn Fun Pie Crust
Also known as too-much-time-on-my-hands Pie Crust, this little beauty is just the kind of thing that would make me go, “Help! I’ve been abducted by the Stepford Wives!”.
Pretty Pumpkin Toilet Paper
No. Please. God. No.
Okay, so I’m going with the Rice Krispie things. Except I may not make them turkey-leg shaped. In fact, I may just leave them flat in the pan. Or maybe just eat them straight out of the mixing bowl before they’re cooled. Or better yet, just pour the Rice Krispies in a cereal bowl with milk and eat the marshmallows on the side. Yeah, that’ll work. And then I’ll do what I do every year on Thanksgiving: call Cracker Barrel. They do a mean Thanksgiving take-out. For like seventy-five bucks, you can get everything you need for a family of six (except the Chinet). And my kids are old enough to drive now, so I don’t even have to pick it up. Sweet.
 
Wishing you the Best Thanksgiving Ever,
😉 Maria
 

Native American Indians be like “Columbus Who?”

So I’m working on my next book. It’s the second in The Gifted Ones series, and deals with a mystery from the American pre-Colonial era and has a couple major characters who are Native American Indians. As a result, I’ve been brushing up on the history of that period and Indian cultures of North Carolina. In the process, I came across this meme. Had to share.
 
via: I discovered America
 

Johnny Depp Redux

The Disgraceful Entrapment of Jesse Snodgrass: Keep the Narcs Out of Our Schools
Just read this piece by Darcia Helle. It’s amazing, and it’s just what she says: disgraceful. This is an example of law enforcement at its absolute worst—using our children to further their own agendas and budgets, and having nothing whatsoever to do with keeping people safe from serious threats. This school district and police department should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves. Is this what they call service? Is this what we taxpayers are getting in return for our money? They should be the ones serving time.