My Recent Comments

If you do, you can practice the airway techniques!

 

They aren't in the series itself (though Belle and the other planners figure heavily in the series of course), but we were thinking of making their wedding part of the Wedding Planners blog...following the plans and the I Do on our blog. What do you all think? Would you like to see that?

FYI, don't forget you can still get my book, the first in the series, in stores now, and enter the contest to win great prizes on the blog!!

Shirley

What I was telling my stepmom the other day (she just married my dad last year) was that after 18 years of marriage, I want a marriage redo -- with a second shower, LOL. Not a new husband, just a whole new set of everything you get at a shower. New towels, sheets, toaster. It seems all that stuff gets icky at the same time. And convincing my husband that all of it needs to go is a chore, LOL. We're going to be moving into another house either the end of this year or early next year (we're building so it all depends on when it's ready) and I wish I could just leave EVERYTHING behind and take all new ;-).

Just like when we first got married!

 

I haven't seen Enchanted either yet, but have heard it's great. I love Ella Enchanted. I even have the soundtrack and listen to it all the time (much to the embarrassment of my high schooler :-).

 BTW, if you all haven't been over to our blog lately, the great Liz was a guest yesterday and posted an excerpt from her book (which was released yesterday, along with mine...so instead of choosing, you'll just have to get both, LOL, and have two great brides to read about!). There's a chance to win one of her books, too, if you comment.

 

FYI, if you want even more of the Wedding Planners, on our group WP blog, today Liz Fielding made a guest appearance and posted an excerpt from her new book (which launches the new Bride for all Seasons series) and is gracious enough to be giving away a book to a random comment person! So stop on by and visit the Wedding Planners (my book is the first in that series and is also out this month--SWEETHEART LOST AND FOUND).

Shirley

I know they're all sitting here saying it was my idea, LOL, but truly, without these gals, there would be no series. I had a few pages, maybe 10?? that had been sitting on my computer forever, about a bunch of friends playing poker. I'd been waiting for the right friends to come along to write a series with friends. I just always thought it would so much fun to write with my friends (though I did worry about it a bit because you know what they say about working with friends or family...but this group was AWESOME. I'd do it again in a heartbeat).

So when the Silhouette Romance/Harlequin Romance merge happened, all of us became really close and talked a lot, and I realized how much I liked these gals, and thought they all had the right strengths to merge with this idea I'd had forever. So I threw it out there, and then they just RAN with it. All I had was a few pages, but they had the brain power to create this amazing series. And incredible characters. I was just blown away with how powerful these gals made each and every ounce of this series. From Serena to Regina, to Belle, to everyone, it's just AMAZING.

Truly, this series is all about the power of friendship. Every one of us left our egos at the door and put the books and the good of the series ahead of everything else. Without the other authors (who are all so incredibly talented!), this series wouldn't be here. So credit them :-)

 

Hi all,

 Taking a break from deadlines to say hello! I'm so glad to hear people are excited about the series and already enjoying the first book! What a cool thing to wake up to!! And yes, I am doing the Bride for All Seasons series, too. And I'm in another one, where I have a bridesmaid book that I'm working on now. I feel like I should have DH redo our wedding, LOL. It's weddings all the time around my house!

 

I made a SUPER easy stir fried pork recipe last night. It couldn't have been any easier if I had a Chinese restaurant drive up and drop it off ;-) I adapted it from a Kraft Food & Family recipe, and it was a hit with the whole family. I think I might mess with a bit more next time--maybe marinate the pork a bit. [By the way, when you zip over to the Kraft site, if you aren't already signed up for that free Food and Family magazine, I HIGHLY recommend it. The recipes are GREAT and even better, you get coupons with it].

Hoisin Sesame Stir-Fried Pork

2 pounds pork, sliced thin and cut into one inch pieces (like little wafers)
1 tablespoon oil (I used sesame oil; but use what you want. Peanut oil works good; olive oil is okay)
1 16 ounce bag Asian Mix vegetables (my grocery sells these, and they even had noodles already in there, too. It was snow peas, carrots, water chestnuts and noodles. Awesome and easy).
1/2 cup Lite or Regular Asian Sesame Vinaigrette Dressing
2-3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
2 green onions, sliced thin

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Cook pork in stages (because if you dump it all in there at once, the liquid created by the meat won't evaporate and it will poach instead of fry) until browned. Add all pork back in, then add the vegetables, then dressing and sauce and cook until vegetables are cooked, about 4 minutes. Add onions. Cook one more minute. Serve!

I also added another teaspoon of sesame oil right at the end, because I like a bit more sesame flavoring. I might marinate the pork next time in some dressing and hoisin ahead of time, so that it'll have more flavor. It was good, but I like a lot of flavor, LOL.

Yep, Micki--I've been busy! This year alone I've already written a Christmas book for this Christmas (Marry-Me Christmas, the last in the Bride for All Seasons series being kicked off in spring by Liz Fielding), as well as this online read. In the next few weeks, I finish up a book for next February, then start one for next July.

Shirley

Though I didn't get cold feet :-)...My husband was in the Navy and got out shortly before we married a LONG time ago. So I had that long distance love thing going with him :-) But we dated in the age before e-mail (my goodness, can anyone imagine those days now?) and had to watit ages for letters.