Happy Christmas and a Few Recipes

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon baking gluten free and low sugar treats.

Peanut butter cookies. Fudge peanut and peanut butter oatmeal ones. And my black bean brownies.

The cookies are all peanut butter based. 

Instead of white sugar, I use either stevia, honey, guava, or maple syrup.

I thought I'd share 2 recipes today.

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of sugar--Note: if you want to use another sweetener you may have to use less or more. Since I used stevia, I only used 2 tablespoons. It's much sweeter than sugar by taste.

1 large egg

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Beat the egg and peanut butter together. Then, mix in your sugar or sweetener. 

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Parchment paper is much better. The cookies are less likely to stick to your pan.

Bake at 8 minutes. 

You can also double this recipe.

Store in the fridge after you cool them off. They're really delish the next day with a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea.

Black Bean Brownies

1-15 oz can of black beans rinsed and drained

2 TBS cocoa or more if you like. I stick with 2.

1/2 cup quick oats

1/4 TSP salt

1/3 cup honey, maple, or Aguave syrup

2 packets of stevia or more if you like. Since I don't care for anything overly sweet, I use the required amount.

1/4 cup of  coconut oil

2 TSP vanilla extract

1/2 TSP baking powder

1/2 cup to 2/3 cups chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350. Bake in a greased 8 inch square pan for 15 to 18 minutes.

Combine all ingredients preferably in a food processor without the chips.If you don't have one, mash your beans before mixing all your ingredients together.

Once you've mixed everything together then add your chips. You can even add another 1/2 cup to the top before baking them.

Store them in the fridge.

I can tell you this much, my daughters can scarf these down in a matter of minutes. They love them.

Want to make Christmas or Hanukkah cookies with your tot? Here's a nifty idea!

Make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats. Have your tot cut shapes with a cookie cutter of their choice.

You can decorate them however you wish. I used colored sugar. It's fast and easy and kept Glowstick's attention. Less mess, too.

This concludes this post.  I hope you all enjoy these recipes, your families, and have a Merry Christmas!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Happy Hanukkah!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah! 

My prayer for everyone is that God will give each one of you a miracle since this is what this holiday is about. I also pray for God's peace to be in Jerusalem and all around the world!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

My Desk

Sweetman says, "You certainly never learned how to organize."

I just shrug. If he only understood, this is how I work best. It's called organized-chaos.

If it's out if sight, it's out of mind.

How does everyone else work?

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Cleaning Out the Bitters

Generally, I don't care much for Holidays. Back in 98, when my younger daughter's dad left, I decided then I would drop them altogether. They held too many bittersweet memories for me anyway. Who needed them?

Things really changed after he left. Besides, it reminded of God's so called goodness. I blamed Him for everything that went kapoot in my life. Not to mention, the church people were cruel when it all fell apart. I was totally alone. Not even my family offered a shoulder to cry on.

It didn't help that the ex had all the five girls for Christmas and Easter every year plus every weekend.

Those days were especially dubbed for cleaning out my closets. It kept me from missing them and gave me a good excuse not to have to spend any spare minutes at mom's. She's another story that I've been writing about over at Two Fur-Peeps and a Writer, www.shellysnovicewritings.blogspot.com/ .

As for getting together with other family members it usually spelled disaster. So and so didn't speak to so and so and on and on. Everyone within my family had their own little clique leaving me somewhere in the middle. 

There is no excuse for bitterness and anger or trying to make people be something they'll never be. Everyone is what they are. No one can make another person self-reflect and apologize. One can only do that for themselves. Something I learned since I had a few bitters growing on my own unhappy tree. But it took time.

So for years, I spent holidays quietly at home. In 2005, I ressurected Thanksgiving. It was always my favorite holiday and least commercialized. It also forced me to reflect on and count my blessings. And stop ... Being so bitter about all the crap that had exploded into my life. Kaka happens! And since we can't change the past. One must go forward. Right?

I also discovered that God wasn't at fault here. Bad things happen either because of our own personal choices or someone else's. And if any of us are guided by our own selfishness to do or not do something, well ... God had nothing to do with it. If we didn't ask Him in the first place to do or not do something, why get upset over it?

The path to forgiveness has been a long one. And I know I'm not there yet. People and family can be downright mean, self-serving, and critical. But so can I. Although, I've been diligently working on those areas. 

For every wrong someone has done to me, I can say I've bounced a lot of bad basketballs off of them. 

Yeshua told us to forgive someone seven times seventy. To forgive is to love thy neighbor as thyself. If we can't forgive others, how can we possibly expect God to do the same for us?

And yes, our family members are our neighbors.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and all went well with their families this year.

I had a very special visitor on Thanksgiving Day.

His mom and dad tagged along, too. The mom is my youngest daughter, Sticky Bun.

And of course, my dad came. Hair Ball claimed him as his own for the day.

Is anyone out there working on forgiveness? 

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Facebook Eats Socks

Washing machines and Facebook have something in common. They eat things like socks or conveniently make things like comments disappear. 

About a month or so ago, I put up a question to other authors and writers: how do you keep from being overwhelmed? 

Anyway, peeps gave me feedback. But all those lovely comments magically disappeared. Hmmm... I don't understand. It had nothing to do with political views or the UN's Agenda 21. It was just a simple question so I could share some tips with other writers in the blogosphere.

It's a good thing I am still able to remember certain things. There were two good tips: make lists and hire someone to do your marketing, your querying, and handle your social media.

I make lists for everything. If I didn't, I'd be lost. 

When I worked in a law firm, I used what was called a tickler system. It's something in an Office Program. Keeping up with deadlines was of utmost importance and logging them into the system helped.

At home, I use a calendar and Post- It Notes. But what doesn't help is having a Sweetman with OCD. He's always closing my calendar and hiding it on me. He's also known to throw my Post-It Notes away. Although, he's been very good about not touching my storyboard on our office wall. He knows he'll get a meat-slapping from me--- not really. I just threaten him.

As for hiring someone to do other writerly chores would be grand as long as you can afford it.

When my daughters were little, I used to hire a teenager to watch them two afternoons a week. I paid her 15 dollars each time so I could get house chores done. 

Think about it, a teenager could at least do some social media for you since they're all computer whizzes these days. I've been thinking about that myself.

However, I wouldn't suggest them handling your queries.

What do you think? How do you handle being overwhelmed?

Also, Norma Bieshir will be sharing her writing wisdom over at her blog. Click on the following link: http://windchasersjourney.blogspot.com/2014/11/okay-maybe-this-is-good-idea-after-all.html?m=1

I find her to be to the point.

Have a chocolate-filled week!

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Some Shelly History

I posted over at my other blog. Just make sure you've got your seatbelt on.

http://www.shellysnovicewritings.blogspot.com/2014/11/severed.html?m=1

Alrighty Then...

I thought I'd update everyone on my computer issues. This week has been the first good week in months with this thing. My printer is even on an even keel.

Thankfully, after a too long hiatus from Killer Stilettos, I've begun working on it again. The first chapter reads very different from the first draft to the thirty-third one. But I guess my absence had my brain crock-potting some surprises. So maybe having these massive issues meant something good for Killer Stilettos and my creativity.

Also, my nephew, Tyler Bradford, created a cover for a brand new project that will be released in 2015.

 

I've got to fix a few things, get a final edit, and send it off to the copy-right office before I release it.

Alrighty then ...

How's everyone else doing?

Hugs and chocolate, all!
Shelly

Two Fur-Peeps and A Writer: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Two Fur-Peeps and A Writer: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire



Just started a series over at my other blog. It'll be about family members. Some will be light. Some sad. Some heavy.



Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Friggin Fritters!

So the computer is working fine now. I also found my original draft of Killer Stilettos in my email. I mislabeled it.

Now I have a problem with the printer! Friggin fritters! The darned thing won't print. There's a command error.

I just want to write. ARG!

How's everyone else doing?

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Corrupted

While I type this post on my iPhone, I'm printing the chapters that I do have for Killer Stilettos.

Fortunately, I was able to find up to chapter 34. So I'm only missing a little less than half of what I'd originally written.

Skinny-computer-guy ended up blowing up my hard drive this past week. It was corrupted. I asked how ... and well ... he told me it had to do with Windows 8 downloading 50 updates to my computer in one day. This actually happened 7 days apart after I got my computer back from him the first time.

He said when this happens, sometimes one of the programs may have been written with errors.

Beats me! I just wished I could push a button here and there on my computer to get where I need to go without any problems. And why do these software companies have to keep updating their software anyway? If it ain't broke why fix it?

Windows 7 was fine with me. So was Windows XP. I never had half the problems with them.

Anyway, I'm glad to have my computer back. And actually look forward to getting  back to work on Killer Stilettos. It's been way too long. I really miss torturing some of my characters.

How is everyone else coming along on their projects?

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Just Blame It All On Me! Or Could It Be the Planets?

"What did you do to your computer now?!" Whenever anything goes awry in my house it's always my fault per the Sweetman.

This year has been a real hoot since I received my new computer last Christmakah. Little did either of us know that Windows 8 was a royal PITA! It has put me way behind in getting anything finished.

Last Friday, I was ready to open the sliding door, go out onto my second floor balcony, and throw the darned thing on the driveway and watch it smash to smithereens. The system has crashed so many times since I've had it that I've lost count.

I've had Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox as browsers. They have all crashed repeatedly. When this happens I have to Refresh my computer. In return, I lose most of my apps and spend a lot of hours redownloading them. 

Before I refreshed my computer last week, I saved everything I had written to a 4GB drive. Throughout the year, I also emailed myself what I had written. Anyway, during the reloading of apps ... things weren't going as smoothly as I liked so I called the Skinny-computer-guy.

Last Saturday, or was it the Saturday before last... I lose track. Anyway, he spent time with my computer. He asked me what some of my problems were. My biggest problem at the time was the multiple chapter 37's in my manuscript. It was a mystery to me. Well, when he opened up the Killer Stiletto doc, he found only chapters 1 through 27. ARG!

When I looked on my 4GB, it was the same. AAAAAA! Chapters 28 through 60 were missing! And in my email, chapters 37 through 60 were missing...the last one is my error. I take full responsibility for that one. Thankfully, I have a storyboard on my office wall.

But no matter what, Sweetman loves to blame me for all my computer mishaps. But Mercury did go retrograde on October 4th. It ended on October 26th. 

 When this happens, it tampers with all means of communication and usually means you'll have to re-do something. Yeah...well...guess what folks? I've got a lot of chapters to rewrite and I'm not happy about it. Not to mention, there will be 10 days of residual stuff from this planet. YIKES!

And now, my newest problem is getting software to dowload off the Hewlett Packard site for my printer. OY VEY! Even the Sweetman suggested I save my pennies to buy a whole new computer.

Hopefully, this will solve itself by next week when the retrograde is finished messing with us. But then again, we just had a partial solar eclipse. And eclipses bring change. Or maybe it was the two blood moons we've had this year.

What is a blood moon? Well, it's a lunar eclipse where the sun aligns itself behind the moon, giving it, the moon, a red or sometimes orange hue. 

The first one occurred during Passover and the last one was around Yom Kippur. There will be 2 more next year around the same Jewish holidays. When there are four in a row, they're call Tetrads. The Jewish sages say when these happen, it signifies something big is going to happen with regard to Israel. The last three Tetrads happened very closely to the Spanish Inquisition, when Isreal became a nation, and the Six Day War. And a lot has happened since between the last two blood moons.

Might I add, that on March 20, 2015, there will be a full solar eclipse. The Jewish sages say, this means judgement to all the nations. So are we looking for WW3 to come? Or my computer completely exploding?

I know Genesis 1:14 says, 'And God said, 'let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.'

And since God is the Boss of the Universe, He can use whatever He wishes to speak to us. But still...I want my computer to work.

 Dear God, please heal my computer.

ANYWAY...

So is God speaking to us? To me?

Anyway, I wanted to leave this one last thought with you, the day that Yeshua hung on the cross there was a full solar eclipse. It lasted for 3 hours.

Luke 23:44-46 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Yeshua called out in a loud voice, "Father,   I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

To me, this was God's way of letting everyone who witnessed Yeshua's death know that He had fulfilled the sacrificial covenant--the second covenant spoken of by the prophets in the Torah portion of the Bible. God knew from the very beginning that it would be impossible for mere human beings to keep His laws. The Jewish peeps proved that many times over and over again. So He sent a one time sacrafice in flesh and blood to atone for the sins of the people. All people. All nations. All tongues. 

I hope you all know Him. And I hope all of you aren't having major computer issues.

And I wish Sweetman would stop blaming me when things go wrong.

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

PS Eventually, Killer Stilettos will be completed. 

Oy Vey!

Well, I'm two Fridays behind in posting for VikLit's Celebrate the Small Things. I figured when I joined, I would find a few things to celebrate. But...hey...I get distracted. What with Ebola and all. I've been busy.

Pic by Shelly Arkon

You know, preparing. Just in case.

With all the antics with the American government, CDC, allowing flights in from West Africa, and the Texas hospital, it seems to me that the red tape or whatever power trip these peeps are on have clouded their judgement.

OR

Maybe our government wants to just knock more than a few of us off. This is a possibility, you know.

Besides, all the stuff above, I took time to hang out with the Glowstick. Took him to the Great Explorations Museum.

Pic by Shelly Arkon

Here he's playing doctor.

Pic by Shelly Arkon

Here he's a pizza chef.

Pic by Shelly Arkon

Here he's milking a cow.

And if I haven't been playing with the Glowstick, my ears have been steaming over my computer. It hasn't worked right in two weeks.

Yesterday, Skinny-Computer-Guy fixed it. But I've got another problem. Remember my duplicate chapter 37 in Killer Stilettos? Now it's completely missing along with chapters 38 through 60.

OY VEY!

Pic by Shelly Arkon

Despite that and the Ebola mishaps, I've been looking up a lot lately. The Florida sky has been awesome. And too, I've been celebrating Sukkot. But there is no way I could talk the Sweetman into putting up a tent. He's not a camper whatsoever.

So how is everyone else doing?

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Yom Kippur

It's another day to Celebrate the Small Things, with Viklit, over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author .

This weekend is Yom Kippur for me. So I thought I would keep this short and post a very cool video that sums up what this holiday means for me.

I hope everyone has a chocolate filled weekend!

Hugs and chocolate!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Rosh Hashanah

Today is Friday. Another day to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Aspring Author.

What is Rosh Hashanah you might ask? Well, it's the Jewish New Year. It is held on the first or second day of Tishri, which on the American calendar is September. This is the time we blow the shofar, beginning ten days of self-refelction and repentance culminating to Yom Kippur.

It is also an appointed holiday by G-d, in Leviticus 23:24:

 'Tell the people of Israel, "In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with the blasts on the shofar,"

What is the purpose of the shofar in this celebration?

1. It is the anniversary of G-d's creation and G-d's return to the earth. Yes. Yeshua Moshiach will be returning. When He comes the shofar will sound.

2. It is to wake us up from our spiritual slumber. It also calls us to repent and turn away from our sins.

3. It is also a reminder of when the shofar was blown on Mt. Sinai when the Torah was given. It also reminds G-d of our commitment and sincerity.

4. It also reminds us of the Prophets of old, who like the blast of the shofar called upon us to correct our ways, follow God's commandments, and act properly with others.

5. The shofar's blast reminds us of the tears shed for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, galvanizing us to bring Moshiach and hasten the rebuilding of the temple.

6. Since a shofar is made from a ram's horn, it reminds us of the binding of Isaac, and the ram G-d provided as a sacrifice in his place. This also symbolizes the sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins. And that we too are to self-sacrifice in order to rid ourselves of our sins.

7. It also reminds us that the shofar will be blown on the Day of Judgement when Yeshua Moshiach comes back. It nudges us to examine our deeds and contemplate how we can improve them.

8. The shofar blast also signals the return of the Jewish people when Yeshua Moshiach comes. He is our salvation.

9. When Yeshua Moshiach comes, the shofar will blast, heralding a time of universal understanding and recognition of G-d's unity.

10. It also reminds us of the primordial scream, the eternal voiceless call of the soul expressing its desire to return to its creator.

So L'Shana Tov to my Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed, and Messianic Jewish friends along with everyone else!

 Hopefully, we all can take time to self-reflect, repent, and do better this new year.

Hugs and chocolate, all!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Zombie Virus

I know. I'm way late posting today. Time hasn't been my friend this week nor has the Salon schedule. It's been brutal.

Anyway, thought I'd Celebrate the Small Things first with VikLit, at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author .

This weeks celebrations:

* I had a wonderful time at last weeks wedding. Sharks, turtles, jelly-fish, and a variety of other fish came. It was soooo cool!

* Wednesday, I had a fun time spoiling my grandbabies. If my phone was working right, I'd share some pictures with you. But...yeah. Stuff happens.

So pick a topic, any topic! The news is full of Debbie-Downer info. It's enough to keep you depressed for the rest of your life.

The Ebola virus seems to be picking up speed. My gut told me that when it reared its creepy head this time, it would be one to watch. And being that I'm a writer with a wild imagination, I've been doing a load of research on it. What I found out would make your head spin. It did mine.

Did you know that the America government holds a patent on the Ebola virus? You can go here  and here to read it for yourselves. There is a plethora of info on this topic.

Did you know that the Chinese fear Ebola turns peeps into zombies? You can go here to read the article. But it left me questioning why would they thinks this? So I investigated further and found that it was possible. But not the once dead and reanimated kind. The National Geographic peeps wrote a piece on this topic back in 2010 on the possibility.  Go here to read. 

In summary, the creation of a zombie virus needs a host to be first infected with both the rabies an the ebola, and let the mutation begin. And yes, it could become airborne by introducing both the viruses to  any flu in the same host. Here are some very informative videos to watch when you have time.

Are we all infected like Rick from The Walking Dead said?

Or have we been set up to be infected? Could be the GMO's, overuse of antibiotics, steroids and antibiotic use in the herd meat we eat. Hmmm...Poor nutrition is definitely a precursor to getting violently ill.

And why did the CDC post a preparedness sight in case of a Zombie Apocalypse?You can read it for yourself here. I'm finding all of this really creepy now. How about you? Been looking into buying Hasmat suits for the Sweetman and I. They're 104 dollars on Amazon.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbat! And be prepared for anything!

Hugs and chocolate!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Ego

I know I've posted at least once or even twice why I really write. And lately, I've been doing a lot of self-reflection and talking to God. And the word 'ego' keeps flashing at me big time. 

In the Oxford Dictionary ego means the following: A person's self-esteem or self importance, self-worth, self-respect, self-image, and self-confidence.

If I really peel back my personal layers, I find a certain amount of ego being one of  many reasons why I write. It's nice to be noticed. It's nice to read rave reviews about my talent. It's nice to be respected by those who have never attempted to do what I do. 

So yes, ego has something to do with why I write. But can this ego-thing be a destructive tool as writers? Definitely!

I see it everywhere. The EGO.  All of social media is filled with Buy My BOOk, READ MY WONDERFUL BOOK, LOVE MY WONDERFUL BOOK!

And I've also seen the peeps who begin writing their passion and then all of a sudden they turn a corner. They write something out of their moral character to gain the attention, sales, and the EGO strokes.

Killer Stilettos, which is the next book in Lila's Journey series, is sitting on my hard drive. It's somewhat of a mess. Chapter one needs to be rewritten. There are still several chapter thirty-fives without its ending sprinkled through the last part the book. These issues made me think maybe God is trying to tell me something.

So I'm working on two other ideas that have a strong moral message and might not be my best sellers. But really folks life isn't about the Almighty-Me. It's about the lives we touch with what we say, do, and write.

If there is one thing I don't ever wish to do is to sell my soul to the devil like a lot of celebraties have done for fame and fortune. And is certainly wouldn't want to lead anyone onto the path of hell.

Hope I wasn't too long winded and that I made sense. Now into my celebrations. Celebrate the Small Things is brought to you by VikLit, at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

Celebrating:

* feeling much better today.

* going to a nice Jewish wedding tomorrow.

* off today and tomorrow.

* Sir Poops is still here!

* going to see the grandbabies on Wednesday.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbat!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Keeping It Short

Today, I'll keep this post short with little words. I'm still not feeling 100% and tomorrow is my last day on antibiotics. So did I get sick with a mega-sinus infection? Hope it doesn't kill me.

Nope! Not going to be a Debbie-Downer! Nope! Nope!

Here are my celebrations:

This post is one of many on behalf of VikLit's Celebrate the Small Things Bloghop. You can find her at, Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Stadium Scott

It's another Friday to Celebrate the Small Things.

                                   This post is part of VikLit's, blog hop. Click this link to join.

Toady is my baby brother's  birthday. So I'm celebrating it in my own little way. In six years, he'll be fifty. MwaMwaMwa-a-ha! I might be the first to reach it. But it's coming his way. SOON!

The next six years will fly like light years in space. (just letting you know, baby brother) Fifty will be knocking on his door in less than a blink of an eye. Forty came rather quickly and it left the same. As did the years between then and now.

Even though I'm reaching a geriatric state doesn't mean I've forgotten anything about my little brother. Like:

* His very first sentence. He was close to four before he began to speak in coherent sentences other than grunts and moans and pointing to various things he wanted. One night at the dinner table, he spoke, "How do you spell relief, R-O-L-A-I-D-S!" It was a miracle to say the least. And he hasn't shut up since.

* The day he decided to put Legos in his nose and he sucked back. There is still at least one stuck in his brain canal somewhere.

* How he would scream whenever saw the doctor or the barber.

*How mom made him wear a football helmet because of his head-banging tantrums.

* How neat he kept his bedroom and organized his Hot Wheels and Star Wars figures. He's very OCD unlike his sister here.

*  He sucked his thumb until he was 11. My boyfriend at the time thought it cool to drive around the block one day and tell the neighbors via a PA system. My brother met him at the door that day with his plastic ball bat.

* His first hickey. He stubbed his toe over it when I pointed it out to him.

* How he'd lick his index finger and checked to see which way the wind was blowing before stepping outside. He didn't want his perfectly parted and feathered hair blown into oblivion. He did his best to protect it, turning this way and that while he shielded it with his hands, dodging wind while he made his way to the car.

* And the time he laid on his bed crying when Mother Rose came to visit my sister. He was horrified at 11, that he would be next to receive a visit from her.

Since then, he's grown up and has made a special place for himself in a football stadium. The home of the Buccaneers. He's been a diehard fan forever. He's been to every game since 1992 (I don't understand because the team really sucks). But he has bought a pass every season despite it, every year. ***rolling my eyes***

 Picture by Tyler Bradford, my nephew.

Football has been his life. He played it in high school, coached his son's games, and has scheduled his life around every game. Seriously! Replicas of his favorite team members sit on a shrine in the form of bobble-heads in his family room. And no one touches it!

He's known as Stadium Scott. His seat is right below the pirate ship in section 147, row Y. He holds seats 17 and 18. These are his seats. No one else gets them.

My brother believes football is a great team sport. It teaches one to be a team player. If one player misses his assigned play it throws the whole game off.

One of his favorite things to do while at the games is to raz the opposition fans by making fun of their FAT CHEERLEADERS. In which he told me, didn't exist. So does that make them INVISIBLE OR IMAGINARY CHEERLEADERS? ***scratching my head***

As you can probably tell, I don't do football. Eating worms and bugs seems much more appealing to me than watching any football game. If I get the last fifteen minutes of any game, that's good enough for me. But I wanted to celebrate my brother, Stadium Scott's birthday. And if anyone visits the Tampa Bay Buccaneer games, say hi and wish him a happy birthday. Hey! Is there a game this weekend? ***shrugging****

I hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate, all!
Shelly









*

Celebrate the Small Things: Lightning

People are being struck by lightning ... a lot! California being one of many states that has felt the wrath.

About a month and a half ago, on my way to work one morning, lightning was whipping through traffic. Yes. You read right. It was streaking through traffic as cars were driving and stopping at the traffic lights.

Before I turned down the main drag, a long electrical whip raced across the hood of my car and the woman's next to me. We both looked at each other to confirm we weren't seeing things. Mind you, I live in Florida, the lightning capital.

A week later, on a Tuesday evening, I witnessed lighting stretching out of the night sky with intention. It was as if each strike had fingers zapping the road. In all my life I've never seen lightning with a mission.

What could this mean?

Are they yet more signs from the heavens that God's not happy with the humans on planet earth? Could it be a sign that we need to get our crap together? Does he use nature to show Himself?

In, The Science of God, Gerald L. Schroeder explains it as: 'We are told that two aspects of a transcendent infinity labeled as God have been "condensed" and projected into our spatially and temporally finite universe. One is revelation, written in words, that we call the Bible. The other reveals itself in the wonders of nature and the laws by which nature functions'.

He also quotes Exodus 14:21, where God used wind that blew all night to split the Sea of Reeds. The sea Moses led the people of Israel through. This of course is only one of many instances where God uses nature.

And with God anything is possible. But I'm still wondering if He is trying to get our attention through nature. Here's a video to think about before I Celebrate the Small Things:

What do y'll think? Ooky-Spooky, eh?

Now for my celebrations on behalf of VikLit, at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author .

* No-No and Ya'akov are staying safe. HAMAS shot fifty rockets on Wednesday. Only one landed near Tel Aviv, exploding on a main highway. Thank God it was in the middle of the night. No one was hurt.

* Sunday, I get to pick up the Glowstick for a sleepover and a shopping day. YAY!

* This week, instead of getting majorly depressed and giving up on the Killer Stilettos dilemma, I worked on another project and have come quite far with it.

* Hubby's cancer scans came back clean again. YAY!

* And I've dried quite  a few herbs from my garden this week, collected five more tomatoes, and six peppers.

Hope everyone has a chocolate filled weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Strange Trumpet Sounds: Is God Warning Us?

Before I celebrate, I thought I'd share something with y'll that I found when researching for a writing project that I'm working on.

Warning: It is a little strange and has to do with an atmospheric noise that people heard all around the world from 2011 to 2012. It sounds a lot like a shofar.

In the Torah, the shofar was used to warn the people.  Seven different angels, in Revelation 8, are given and blow a shofar prior to opening the specific seals assigned to them to release whatever judgement they are to pour out onto planet earth.
 
So is God trying to get our attention about something? Possibly. The entire world is in crisis .right now.

"There will be no more delay; on the contrary, in the days of the sound from the seventh angel when he sounds his shofar, the hidden plan of God will be brought to completion, the Good News as he proclaimed it to his servants the prophets." Revelations 10:6b-7 (The Complete Jewish Bible)

Of course, there is a scientific explanation for this. When there is a great number of natural disasters and strange weather patterns, it causes an atmospheric noise. But then, the Big Bang theory is parallel to the Creation Story. It was a lot of energy the first few days. A good book to read on this is, The Science of God, by Gerald L. Schroeder.

I believe God can use whatever He wants to speak to us. Genesis 1: 14 God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night, let them be for signs, seasons, days, and years...et al. (The Complete Jewish Bible)

So here are three video clips of what I'm talking about.

This one was heard at a Ray's game. The sportscasters were bothered by it.

The next one is a clip made from news reports and people around the world hearing the same eerie noise.

This next one gives Biblical theory coupled with scientific explanations. The narrator also sounds off a shofar so you can here what it actually sounds like.

All three gave me chills. How about you?

Now for my celebration this week:

*No-No and Ya'akov, my daughter and son-in-law are staying safe. They both work in Tel Aviv and live in Bene Ayish, right between Ashkelon and Ashdod.

*The rest of my family is doing great. Sir Poops is still hanging out and is back in diapers. He's visited the Great White Watery Abyss of Torture a few times this week.

*And little by little, I've been getting back on track with my writing. Although, I've a got a really  strange problem with my MS. I had several chapter 35's with no ending. And today, I discovered more of the same chapter sprinkled through the last 10. Me eye-brains are crossing on this one.

*Also, we're still eating yummies from the garden.

This was posted on behalf of Viklit at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author .

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

PS My friend Emily McKeon wrote a book on domestic violence. She's looking for help to get the word out. GO HERE

Celebrate the Small Things: Make the World Stop!

Ever feel like you just wanted to stop the world and just get off the ride it's spinning you around on? I do. And I did.

I needed a break from the Israeli/Gaza conflict, the ISIS issue, the Ebola crisis, and America's border problems. There are so many things going on. All so interconnected. And all a danger to us.

So I went to my younger daughter's house and spent time with her and my new grandson this week.

No matter what evil is thrown at us, there is always something to celebrate.

This post was brought to you by VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Hope everyone has something good to celebrate despite what's happening on planet earth. Just know God is watching and is in control.

Have a happy weekend and a happy Shabbats, if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: A New Baby

WIt's another Friday to Celebtate the Small Things with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Today, I celebrate:

*my daughter still staying safe in Israel.

*the Iron Dome.

*my new grandson from my youngest daughter. What a surprise! She was due August 22nd.

*we had peppers from the garden this past Sunday, stuffed. And tomato and basil omelette a every morning. Yum!

*slowly but surely I'm still working on Killer Stilettos. But my characters keep coming up with stuff that will have to be resolved in book 3, Combat Boots.

So this concludes my celebrations. Have a happy weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Keep Israel and the Palestinians in your prayers.

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Hatefulness

Today is another Friday to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Before I celebrate, let's talk about the word hate. Per the On-line Dictionary, it means: intense or passionate dislike.

It's definitely a strong one, and it seems to have been sparked all over the world since the Israeli and Gaza conflict. Not to mention, the Iraqui Christian conflict. The hate is spreading like wildfire and being demonstrated in various countries all over the globe, even in America.

I, myself, have been bombarded by the hate via Facebook. My daughter, No-No,has received Facebook messages from Hamas Supporters that they will find her and slit her throat and to 'die dirty Jew, die'. Mind you, she lives in the southern part of Israel where rockets have been consistently fired from Gaza over into Israel.

The Iron Dome intercepted two this week over the train station in Tel Aviv. My daughter described sudden panic as she and co-workers huddled underneath a stairwell as they watched an enemy rocket being intercepted before dropping on them.

Sorry, I got a little off track here. 

Anyway, the hate is being fueled by the casualties IDF happens to make when they defend their country. But what did Hamas expect? SNAKES!!!!

What were the Palestians thinking when they made a pact with this terrorist group? That there would be roses and tulips at the end of the rainbow? WAKE-UP DOROTHY!!!!

Hamas knew very well what they were doing. Make it look like Israel is at fault and get the entire world and the international community of Useless Numbskulls (UN) involved. Hey! It worked just like a computer virus. Hamas has deflected off on Israel very well by using the deaths of Palestinians. Massive deaths!!!!

And too, almost all world media is pointing their finger at Isreal as the ones at fault. Viruses are a bad thing. Look what the spread of Ebola is doing in Africa.

But then again, most of the news channels are owned by the Arab world. Therefore, intentional hate is being edited in and a lot of truth edited out. I know how it works. Here's an article that'll make your toes curl: www.whoownsthenews.com/

So this nasty, four letter word through Facebook, Twitter, and the media is fueling it all the more. Opinions have been hateful to say the least.

Okay. I'm done with my rant.

I celebrate:

* My daughter and her hubby and his family are still safe.

* The Iron Dome.

* My tomato harvest.

* And more to come.

* I re-typed Samah Ronit this week.

* Critiqued another critter's work and made more progress on Killer Stilettos.

* And Sir Poops keeps defying iminent death.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

Today, I'm so not celebrating the internet. Once again, I've got issues with my computer. Pop-ups are everywhere. Singing ones. Blinking ones. Flashing ones. So this evening I need to play around and figure out what is going on. My malware and blockers aren't working.

Anyway...

I do celebrate what writing I got in this week. Thirty and forty-five minute intervals everyday. 

My daughter, No-No and her hubby, Ya'akov and his family are staying safe in Israel.

That the United Nations finally understood Israel's right to defend themselves. 

And my three day stay-cation this past weekend with my grandson, Glowstick.

That's it for me.

This post was brought to you on behalf of VikLit, at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Have a happy weekend and a happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Bombs!

This week I've been greatly distracted. I'm thankful for the writing time I've had this week. Almost every quiet moment I've had, has been spent in prayer. 

Tuesday, while I was working on a scene in Killer Atilettos, thunder boomers and lightning surrounded my neighborhood. While I was experiencing this my daughter, No-No and her husband, Ya'akov, we're running to their safe room, while sirens were sounded and rockets were being fired into Israel.

They live in Bene A'yish. It's tucked between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Yesterday morning, No-No watched eight rockets shoot over her neighborhood. The Iron Dome intercepted each one.

So today, I celebrate my daughter and son-in-laws safety. I also celebrate that God is with them and all of Israel and all the innocent, this includes the Palestinians. They are Hamas's puppets.

This post was brought to you by VikLit, at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Thank You, Lord of Hosts! I thank you that You are Israel's Protector and Fortress! I thank You that you are their Deliverer and that You are an Almighty God!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

For Now

I've been thinking and thinking. Since life keeps throwing me curve balls, and I really need to finish a few projects, Killer Stilettos and the extended version of Time on Her Side, I will only be posting for Celebrate the Small Things on Fridays.

I figure, too, since there's been a lot of negative in my life, I'll just take the time to focus on the positives. 

Sometimes we just need to reflect inwardly and make a few adjustments. That's my plan.

I'm also hoping to read more blogs that I follow and help critique some of Emily McKeon's stuff.

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

It's another Friday to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

First, Happy Fourth! I celebrate our freedom to speech, thought, expression, and the written word.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone who visited my Monday post who left kind words. Many apologies though, I haven't had time to comment or visit anyone the last few days.

It looks as if Sir Poops will be spending his fourth in front of the sliding door, taking in the sights and sounds. While he's never enjoyed being outdoors, he loves to watch it all through a window. He hates the feel of any grass and doesn't care much for hot pavement.

Sweetman and I will make sure he gets what he loves before he leaves us. But not chocolate. Hopefully, God will give him a bowl full when he gets to heaven. I'm pretty sure it won't be poisonous to fur-peeps in heaven.

Have a lovely Fourth with your families, friends, and pets. Take time to rest, too. 

Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

The Days are Numbered

Oh boy! The last 48 hours have been tough. One of my most bestests friends in the whole wide world was rushed to the vet yesterday morning.

This is Sir Poops from several months back.

When he woke up yesterday, he was breathing funny and his legs were wobbly.

After the vet ran a few labs and gave him an x-Ray, I was told his heart was enlarged and that he had fluid in his lungs. Not too mention, his intestines were inflamed and full of gas.

A couple of weeks back, he had a severe colitis attack. This made his heart weaker.

I've been told that his days are numbered. Before bringing him home, the vet gave him some shots to help revive him. I was also given heart and lung meds.

Today, he's much better. But he can't walk or stand for long. He's still drinking and eating. He's still wanting to be held. And he still wants to be on the sofa with us. Right now, he's watching a Transformer's movie. He loves his TV.

If there is one thing I know, he's been the most loyal being I've ever had in my life. He loves me no matter what and has always went out of his way to cheer me up. And even in his current state, he's still trying to keep me happy. We've been together for 13 years.

This fur peep has been there through my dating blunders, my daughter drama, meeting the Sweetman, and then marrying him. I'm sure he has a few good stories to write himself.

Anyway, please forgive me if I don't get around to read and comment on your blogs. My life has changed just a wee bit, once more. Sir Poops will be in diapers for the rest of what life he has left. And since he can't stand for very long, I'm back to hand feeding him.

So as you can see, this writer has a another life outside of her imagination.

Hugs and chocolate and hug your fur-peeps!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

It is the last Friday in June to Celebrate the Small Stuff with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

I know I'm late posting, too. Usually, I write this post throughout the week. Today, I'm typing and posting from my IPhone. 

This week I celebrate the following:

* The lady named Ibrahim who was put into prison for being a Christian and marrying a Westerner. Her unborn child and her living one were all three thrown into an Islamic prison months ago for the above mentioned. She was set free at the beginning of this week.

* Not that I'm celebrating this ... But I had a vision or a dream about the 3 Israeli boys kidnapped by the Hamas a few weeks ago. God is with them like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo. Pray for these boys and their families. Their names are Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali.

* 

* Tuesday, my daughters and I got a lot done for the new baby's arrival. But there is more to do.

* I'm thankful for the little bit of writing I've been able to fit in around my crazy schedule.

* And for all the great veggies my garden is keeping the Sweetman and I fed with.

 

 

I hope everyone has a happy weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

I'll be around today and tomorrow and Sunday, too, playing catch up.

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Sweetman the Plumber-Man

Yesterday morning, around 7:30 AM, the Sweetman decided to replace our spicket in the kitchen right before I had to go into The Salon.

He had watched a YouTube video on how to do it. He even bought the suggested tools to use. 

So under our sink he went.

'Get me a paper towel.'

'Dammit!"

"Get me a bucket!"

"Oh shit!"

"I'm telling you, monkeys must've put this damn thing in."

The suggested tools he bought prooved to be useless under the sink. The instructional video made it look easy-peasy to remove it. But the poor Sweetnan was literally doing circus contortions trying to get the darned thing out.

So he resorted to the old mighty hacksaw and me holding the old spicket in place. I thought for sure one of us was going to lose a finger or even a hand. But twenty minutes later the only thing that fell into the kitchen sink was the old spicket.

Another twenty minutes of struggling and a few more cuss words ...  and TaDa!

Our new spicket! And I'm glad it's over.

This morning, I managed to type 608 new words exactly on Killer Stilettos, even though I'm dealing with a barometric pressure headache. 

I worked on it for two hours. But not without laying down twice. These headaches really get in the way. I've taken Tylenol and Benedryl. 

I pray to be like my sunflower. It stays tall no matter what comes its way. It should bloom soon. So should Killer Stilettos.

I hope everyone has a Happy Monday and week. I'll be getting ready for work soon. Hoping to visit blogs in between heads of hair later.

Tomorrow, I'll be with my daughters. Number 5 is expecting her first baby come August 22nd. So no writing tomorrow. It will be a day of organizing and cleaning her place for me. 

See everyone on Friday when I Celebrate the Small Stuff.

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

Happy Friday, everyone! It's time to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit .

I'm going to try and keep this short. It's Thursday night, and I'm planning to go to bed soon. Gotta get up early in the AM since I'm opening up The Salon.

But I do have some things to be thankful about:

* Last Saturday, I got a new do. Whacked it off, in fact. My arms needed one less head of hair to do.

* Monday I celebrated Father's Day with my dad. We had a nice brunch at Peaches and went to the movies. We saw Noah.

I celebrate that I paid 2 dollars a piece. It was not worth more than that. My dad and I joked around through the whole movie.

If I were to leave a review, I could sum it up in one word. Weird.

* Sir Poops is doing much better. I celebrate everyone's prayers. He's eating rice and baby food and keeping it down and in.

* And I celebrate getting in some writing time this week. I completed two chapters.

Here's a diddy form Killer Stilettos:

Once in the bathroom, I shut the door behind me. As fast as I could, I slipped off my hilt and out of the blue hospital gown and slinked the wedding dress over my head and let it drape my naked body. A bra and some panties would’ve been nice. I wasn’t for going commando or letting the girls loose. The thirty-six C’ers were definitely floppers, bouncing here and there. I hope no one notices. The last thing I wanted were cold nipples displaying themselves in front of the whole world to see, especially the Underworld ... of all places.

Okay. It's time for me to get ready for bed. Have a happy weekend and a Happy Shabbats, if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly