Positivity Project

Power of Positivity

During this time of the unknown and the scary, an opportunity has presented itself for us to come together. Distance is irrelevant. As a matter of fact, social distancing is a MUST. But – that doesn’t mean we can’t come together and pass along positivity and help each other thru.

I will use my blog to post positive things. Things are defined as videos, pictures, craft ideas, recipes, anecdotal stories. Anything that doesn’t focus on the negative of our healthcare scare, economy, and politics.

Would love for everyone to get involved and share how they are getting thru. How are they staying close to family and friends, how are they getting thru the day and keeping busy? Share fun stories from now or when you were younger.

You can share your positivity in the comments or send me a direct message and you can send me a blog post. Let's do this together!

Let’s start with Camping Brownies. What? What are camping brownies?

So glad you asked.

Camping Brownies are the best brownies! It's a recipe my grandmother, Maxine (AKA Mad Max) has made since I was a kid. My grandmother is 95 years young and the heart of our family. Not to mention a terrific cook and baker.

I share this recipe for you all to try as part of our Positivity Project.

Why are they called camping brownies? Good question. Because my grandma used to bake them for our camping trips. Camping with my grandparents used to be a summertime activity us kids loved. And the brownies were one of the many highlights.
Can you say YUMMY!!!!

Camping Brownie Recipe:

·         4 eggs
·         1 cup flour
·         1 cup sugar
·         1 stick butter
·         16 oz. Hershey’s chocolate syrup
·         ¼ tsp. salt

Instructions:

·         Melt butter, beat eggs and mix together.
·         Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Camping Brownie Topping:

·         1 1/3 cup sugar
·         6 tablespoons butter
·         6 tablespoons or 1/3 cup milk

Instructions:
·         Boil all the above ingredients for 30 seconds – stirring. Take off heat.
·         Add ½ cup chocolate chips.
·         Beat until it will spread on cooled brownies.

We made these for my grandmother's 95th birthday and they are as good now as they were then.

Enjoy!! And feel free to share a childhood or family recipe of one of your favorite treats as a kid.

How to live by life’s little ditties

Here are a few ditties I live my life by. They are in no particular order, except number one.

#1. Life is too short, so live it!

See how simple that is? Let me put it another way. If you’re worrying about “what-ifs” then you’re not living, you’re worrying.

#2. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

See if this explains it better. If you’re going to have sex, ladies, don’t you want hot, sweaty, heart-pounding, orgasmic sex? You know, the kind when you finish you can’t breathe, but are so exhilarated you rollover on top of the guy so you can begin again. Or would you rather have the kind where you don’t reach that ultimate high, but when the other person gets theirs you say “Gee, that was nice.” Nice is not done well. Nice is nice. Hey, if he isn’t getting it right, show him. If you want to write a book, don’t just write a book, write the best dang book you can! Live the best life you can!

#3. Life should be an adventure.

This one seems to trip up a great many people. This means go outside your comfort zone. Think outside the box. Push the envelope. Whatever you do, try something. Do something! Experience something new. I live by this creedo! Once a year I come up with something new to try and do it. It could be taking singing lessons, scuba diving, running a marathon, or as simple as trying a new type of food. This year I will experience a 50-mile trail race!

#4. Bucket lists belong in a pail.

Bucket lists are just that, lists on a piece of paper. You don’t need a list to know what you want. Just wake up one day and say, “Today I’m going to bungee jump.” Then go do it. You have to make it happen and writing it down on a little piece of paper and squirreling it away is not going to make it happen. You have to take the bull by the horns or in this case the bungee by the cord and go for it! So if running a marathon is on this proverbial bucket list…take it off and just do it. Who cares if you walk the entire race. You can say you did it as opposed to, “It’s on my bucket list.” Basically, if you take it off the bucket list then you are adhering to Life ditty #3.

#5. Body and mind need restoration.

I never used to believe in this, but have learned the hard way. You see, it used to be that every time my husband and I took a vacation one or both of us would come back to not having a job. So we stopped taking vacations. We thought we were jinxed. However, without following this motto you never give yourself the time to recuperate from the forty-hour work week or if you are a homemaker, even longer hours. You need the time to get away to relax and rejuvenate. Now, it does not mean you need to fly off to Never Never Land or my favorite place (Ireland), but you have to do something so you are not amidst your everyday as this will only suck you back in. A couple of suggestions: Go camping with no cell phone and oh, yeah, no laundry or bills to pay. I once spent a week in the middle of nowhere, Georgia with no phone, no TV, and it was snowing. Best time of my life! Spend a day and go to every movie in the movie theatre. What a great escape! For a short, daily escape, take up running, walking, knitting, and oh, yes...reading. Give yourself time away from the daily grind.

#6. Life does not revolve around work.

This is probably one of the hardest ones for all of us to get past. We, as a society, work too many hours and in my opinion for too little. Yes, it pays the bills (sometimes). But honestly, is that what you were put on this earth for, to pay bills and make money for someone else? That is a resounding NO! Most, if not all of us, at one time or another, have been workaholics. To my great chagrin, I will admit to being one of them. I was actually one in my early twenties. Which, is perhaps, why I learned at a very young age that life was too precious and oh, yeah, meant to be lived (see Life ditty #1) so early on. Life should revolve around family and friends. They are your backbone, your source of inspiration, your rocks. Life is too precious to put a job above all else. And should you be so short-sighted to do so you will miss so much. Do you want to miss celebrating your tenth anniversary because of a board meeting? Or miss your daughter’s soccer playoff because you had to fix a bug or a delivery problem that could have waited another twelve hours? Of course you don’t. And neither does that family member or friend. Don’t let work get in the way of life passing you by. And if you have children, don’t show them the path of least resistance and that an unhappy life is normal. Show them that what life has to offer is what surrounds them, not the paycheck that pays the bills (sometimes). Play hookie!

#7. Live YOUR life and not someone else’s.

Every day, in every walk of life, you will see something or someone you admire and think, “I want what he or she has.” Really? How do you know they are happy? How do you know that they don’t go home alone or depressed or dread the next day? Life isn’t always greener on the other side. At least that’s what my mama always said. You don’t want someone else’s life you want yours. But to do that, you have to know what you want and go after it. Take it! Sitting on the sidelines and wishing you were someone else, had what someone else has, is not living your life. It’s not, in my opinion, even living. It’s wishing. And while I love wishing on a star, I also chase that star to the ends of the earth.

#8. Never regret ANYTHING.

Some people, maybe a great many will be shocked and horrified by this ditty. People believe mistakes are a sin or should be prevented in any way. Me, I have a different belief. Rather than regret any action, learn from it. Seriously! Once, my ex-husband and I moved to New Jersey. It didn’t last long. It was not a great experience. Thom’s mother said something about regretting it, and I said, “Why should I regret it? I learned I don’t like to live in New Jersey, and I learned what I do like.” See, silver lining. If you live your life by learning and not regretting, you grow and experience more. Regret is like a ball and chain. The more you regret, the more regret weighs you down in fear. You begin fearing making mistakes. Fear of mistakes will prevent you from living life. (see ditty #1) Do not fear mistakes. Embrace them! Grow! Live!

What little ditties, mottos, or creedos do you live by?

Fun with Lists and Embarrassing Moments

This is going to be a good one! Write about your most embarrassing moments.

When I was just a kid I used to go to stock car races with my father. One time I went to use the girls' room and my sister was supposed to guard the door while I used the potty. As I'm squatting there at about the age of ten, someone jerks the door open and a flash goes off. Thanks to my sister, the worst door guard in the world, somebody got a very indelicate picture of me.

To stay with that theme, let me tell you about my airline incident. It was a late night flight from the West coast to the East coast. i got up to use the restroom. I'm there, sitting on the potty and you know it. The door is yanked open. I went white faced then blushed, and the guy who stood there apologized profusely before shutting the door again. Apparently, I forgot to lock the door that indicates the bathroom is occupied.

Next up is probably my most embarrassing moment. I was teaching a software development class and had to use the ladies' room. Do you see a pattern here?

At the time, I worked at a place that required women to wear dresses or skirts and stockings. All you women can see where this is going.

I finished up in the bathroom adn walked back to my classroom. Mind you, the bathroom was in the hall outside our offices and then my classroom was close to the end of our office. Class starts back up after the break and I turn to write something on the whiteboard.

Yes! That is when I learn, thanks to a very nice student, that my skirt was tucked into my panty hose. And yes, I have just 'bared' all for the world to see from one end of the building to the other and no one, not a single person bothered to tell me until I turned around and shared a very nice visual to a class filled with fifteen men.

Needless to say, I got the best teaching scores ever!

Fun with Lists and Place to Visit

Tell us about all the places you would like to visit. Local or far away!

Scotland (The area where my ancestors came from)
Guinness brewery (Just because I like the beer)
New Zealand
Block Island, Rhode Island (This summer! Where the first Cohoon (ancestor) helped found.)
Quantico Behavioral Science Unit
Navy SEAL training facility
DARPA (To see what else they are doing research on that we don't know about.)

Fun with Lists and Winning the Lottery

What would you do if you won the lottery?

List the things you would do.

Quit my day job (Anyone who says otherwise is crazy.)
Become a full-time writer
Hire a book publicist (Let's face it, I'm a writer, not a marketing person.)
Go to Scotland (Visit my ancestral home of the Clan Colquhoun)
Open a beach bar in Florida (Right on the water! Every evening drink a margarita while watching the sunset.)
Buy a cottage in Ireland (Yup, the green grounds, the mild climate, and of course, the pubs...who wouldn't want a vacation home in Ireland.)

I'm certain there are way more things I would like to do!

What about you? What would you do if you won the lottery?

Fun with Lists and Guilty Pleasures

Last weekend I was in a bookstore. GASP! Can't imagine that, can you?

While at the bookstore I found this cool book about your life in lists. It wasn't anything fancy, just a little notebook that asks you to make different lists.

That listography book gave me an idea that we could have some fun with lists.

Today's List: List your guilty pleasures

My guilty pleasures:

Ice cream with hot fudge AND caramel sauce
Chick Flicks
Books!! (Did I need to mention that?)
Sexy underwear (Okay, what female does not like this? I, however, bought one new pair for the 14 days for my upcoming Irish vacation.)
Flowers (I go crazy in the summer. I plant new flowers every weekend and order an outrageous number of bulbs. I look for any bare spot in the garden to fill. I'm obsessed!)
Margarita (Not just any margarita...The perfect margarita! I savor every sip, salt lick, and drop of tequila.)
Veuve Cliquot champagne (When I sell a novel, I celebrate with champagne.)

I'm certain I have more, but some may be a tad risque to share here. [WINK]

What are your guilty pleasures?

Rainy day ideas

What do you do on a rainy day?

Perhaps you sing the song you learned as a kid "Rain, rain, go away. . ." Maybe you curl back under the covers and hide, tuning the pounding of the rain on the roof out.

How about some ideas that might be a tad more interesting? Here are some rainy day ideas.

Go bowling. Yeah, I said that. When was the last time you called a couple of friends up and said, "Let's go bowling." You can't beat throwing a ball down some wooden alley and watching it crash against ten pins. And you'd probably lean this way and that trying to help the pins tumble. Not to mention that a bowling alley usually has pub food and beer. This is a great way to blow off rainy day steam.

See a movie. Take your best friend or that special someone and check out the latest chick flick or romantic comedy. A good laugh and a bucket of popcorn will chase those rainy day blues away.

Go to the mall. No, I did not say go shopping. I said go to the mall. Get out of the rain by going into the mall and walk. There is nothing so entertaining as people watching in a mall. Seeing a man with a flat top cut wearing black horn-rimmed glasses dressed in red dockers, green polo, beige sadal shoes will put a smile on your face. Or perhaps you see the woman with five pigtails in her hair all dressed up with colorful bows and ribbons wearing a rainbow sweater, sweat pants, and a tutu. Actually, I see this everyday and it always makes me grin.

If you're a writer, why not write. Take that laptop, a cup of flavored coffee (maybe spiked) then curl up in your favorite chair and write. Don't just write anything. Write a scene that takes place in teh rain. I picture a scene with a killer stalking his prey through the woods while she runs, heart pounding in her chest, wet bangs blurring her vision while she tries to stay upright and not slip and fall on the wet leaves. Or maybe it's a rainy day love scene. The hero shows up and sees the heroine standing out on her deck in a white T-shirt, the rain dropping down in heavy rivulets, the shirt sticking to her body. Now words are needed. Just a look. . .

Whew! I might have to go write that love scene.

Have a wonderful rainy day!!

What do you like to do in your spare time/on weekends?

Yesterday we talked about how much we work and the long commute, so today let's discuss spare time.

What do you like to do in your spare time/on weekends?


It goes without saying that I love to write. But beyond that there are lots of things I like to do in my spare time.

I get up on the weekends and go have breakfast. On most Saturdays, I usually go meet a small group of friends, the'breakfast club' at our favorite bagel shop. On Sundays, I tend to keep to myself and hang out where I can write for a good couple of hours.

Now that spring has finally arrived, I enjoy being outside as much as possible. So after I have breakfast with friends or do a little writing, I go home and change into outdoor attire. That means clothes I can get dirty. REALLY dirty.

I ALWAYS wear a baseball cap. Most of the time it's a Boston Sox cap, but since I returned from Ireland I am wearing my green Ireland hat. Yup, that's me beneath that green cap.







Once I'm dressed for dirt, I head outside with my CD player and several CDs and then I dig in. Literally. I will plant flowers or snip the dead heads, but more than likely I am finding something I can do that will add color to the yard. Like my little crocuses that have come up. Soon the tulips will be blooming and I will have a ton of color. I cannot wait!







A year ago, I saw this idea for a firepit at Lowe's, but never got around to building one. Last weekend, I finally took the bull by the horn and went for it. I borrowed my neighbors' green machine truck, now known as the shaggin' wagon and found someone at the store who knew how to build the firepit. I got the stones loaded, picked up the metal firepit thingy then drove home and voila! About an hour later, with the help of some friends, I had a firepit.

If I'm not getting dirty by digging something up then I am enjoying my deck and a good beer or bottle of champagne. Yeah, I'm weird like that. I don't need a reason to drink champagne.

I like just soaking in the sun, especially after 6 months of cold, icky white fluffy stuff, and gray skies. On a really good day you will catch me writing on my deck, listening to a good music CD, and the lyrical sound of the old wooden roller coaster with screaming kids in the background.

Toss in a few friends and a cookout and you have a perfect day. Well, maybe a baseball game would kick the day over the top, but that's pretty dang sweet for my free time.

What about you?

Tom Sawyer Day in Florida

If you saw a sign that said, Tom Sawyer Day, what would you think? Perhaps people were getting together to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Uh, no. Tom Sawyer Day in my father's mind is a community event to wash the community fence.

First of all, you need to know that not every person is aware of who Tom Sawyer is. My father did receive several phone calls asking that question.

On the other hand, everyone knew what BYOB meant. Or did they?

Actually, they did not. In this case, BYOB was not bring your own booze, but stood for bring your own bucket.

The incentive for this laborious project that encompassed 850 feet of fencing was free drinks, of the water and soda variety.

Yes, this was a successful venture! Thanks to 12 people who brought their buckets, brushes, and their great attitudes for wanting to experience literature in the true sense of the word. . .by washing a fence just as Tom Sawyer did.

Wait! Tom Sawyer didn't wash the fence. He somehow convinced the other boys that washing the fence was fun.

Ahhh. Now I get it. My dad played Tom Sawyer today. He got others to do the work all in the guise of it being fun.

Lucky for him everyone did have a blast hanging out with their neighbors, getting wet, and enjoying the sunshine.

Great job, Dad!

Snowball Anyone?

You've heard about those people that strip down and dip their half-naked bodies into the ocean for ten seconds, well that's nothing compared to snowball.

Snowball is a game that twenty people, including me played last Saturday.

What is Snowball? Snowball is softball in two feet of snow and played with a 16" ball.

You start with a pristine field covered in two plus feet of snow. But where's the baseline? Well, to get a baseline you have to plow the field. Notice I said plow, not plough. This is not a wheat field. This is a ball field covered in snow sow you have to create you own baseline.
Here's how. You line everyone up and shuffle down each baseline and make way for the runners. The beer is optional and the women are last in line cus you know, why not let the men show their big strong muscles.


You gotta be careful while playing cuz you don't want to get too cold or too hungry. So stock up on hot cocoa (spiked, of course) and homemade rice krispy treats.

Do you think they're smiling a little too much? I think they touched the spiked cocoa before the game started.

After the second or third inning of hitting full team lineups, no matter how many outs, when you start to have to use the dugout fence to hold yourself up and you look bedraggled like this, don't forget to take a break.



The snow makes for a great sofa. Oh! The beer is optional.



Be careful using a white softball as it may disappear. "Where did the ball go?" Or maybe she just wants to show off her derriere. We started out with a red, white, and blue softball, but since it got so wet we switched to the second ball which was all white. And yes, at one point four or five people were on the ground searching for a ball in two feet of white, cold snow.

Then again, it may not be the white softball that you can't find. It could be first base. "Somebody help! Where did first base go?"





Where did the ball go? It wasn't supposed to go up!










Then you have the smiling hitter who in the back of his silly and possibly sloshed mind saying, "Bring on the heat! Let's knock this ball out of the park."








Of course, you may actually hit the ball. Look at that surprised grin! "Did I actually hit it. . .that far?" Shh. Don't tell him I said so, but it probably only went three feet in front of him.







The best part of the game, besides the new friends that you'll make, and the achy muscles that you will have for days is the party after the game. Check out these smiling faces who are thinking, "The game is over. Bring on the food!"

I hope these pictures have inspired you! Go out, grab twenty of your closest friends, a ball, a couple of bases, bats, and some munchies, and have a blast.

We did!!

What to do with all that snow?

Has the snow got you down? Are you feeling the winter blues?



<------ Well, you don't want to try this.

Instead, turn back the clock and remember when you were a kid. Remember how whenever it snowed you would press your face against the window and fog it up watching the snow fall, hoping school would be cancelled. And when it was what did you do?

You went outside and played in the snow. You made snow angels, built snowmen, built snow forts, and generally just froze your tushy off while enjoying the cold white stuff.

Well, you're a little older now so maybe the idea of snow forts and snow angels don't appeal as much. I mean who wants all that cold snow trickling down their back. Brr!


However, your entrepreneurial spirit kicks in and you realize you can do something with this snow and make a buck at it. No, I'm not talking shoveling someone's driveway. I'm still talking about tapping into your internal kid.

Go on outside and build a snowman!!

Another idea you would normally think would be a summer time idea, but no, you have to think outside the box. Or in this case, outside.

Remember when you were a kid you would go outdoors to play in the snow and inevitably you would put some in your mouth and eat it. Admit it! You did.

And of course, your mom would catch you and tell you to spit it out or she would warn you about the yellow snow.

You probably still think about eating that snow (mostly cuz your mom told you not to). Well, now you can. Try this little recipe for Snow Ice Cream!

1 gallon snow
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk

When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

And your mom said eating snow was bad. Ha!


Try these ideas soon, before it's too late. Sunnier days are around the corner and soon you will be chillin'.

Summertime Wrap Up

Remember when you were younger and on the first day of school each fall some teacher would ask you to share what you did over the summer?

I thought it would be interesting to do something similar but share something new that you did or experienced for the first time. Kinda like a first kiss, but not. HA!

Since it's my blog I guess I will start. "Hm..." she says with her finger pressed to her chin.

I stained my new deck and porch. Nope, never done that before and not exactly sure I would do it again, but hey! I can say, "I did that."

I was introduced to some new music groups. "Okay, new music groups for me. What can I say? I live a sheltered life." hehehe "Oh, you want to know what music groups?"

Lady Antebellum
Keith Urban

The fun part of the music experience for me is that I also sing. (Shhh. This is a little known secret.) So as part of my voice lessons each week I am learning the music and singing the words to the new songs that I was introduced to. AND this is so great for me because I am finally conquering those pesky two midrange notes that drive me cringe. "Yea me!"

OH! I ran my first 5K ever. Wow! What an experience. All I can say is, "Don't drink water before you do the race." Actually, I very much enjoyed finding the Windham rail trail and training for the run. I enjoyed doing it and reaching my goal of under 12 minutes per mile. "Hey! Nobody said I was a speed demon." Next year my goal is three races. Wish me luck.

Lastly, I started taking shooting lessons. "Don't mess with this blonde." As of last week, I learned to control the .380 to the point of being able to shoot 7 holes into a life-size target's head. "You don't want to know what parts of the man's body I hit with the .45." Suffice it to say, I had a HUGE grin on my face and retired Gunnery Sergeant Mike Stevens AKA Gunny told me, "Don't even talk about it." hehe You think he felt empathy for the paper target?

So what did you do this summer?

September is my favorite month. . .find out why

September is my favorite month for a couple of reasons.

First, this is the month we go from blistering hot to breezes and cool nights when we go from summer to fall. Yards and trees go from green to brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. We go from wearing peek-a-boo shorts during the day to jeans and a snuggly sweater at night. Instead of listening to the air conditioner kick on and hum, we listen to the crackle of logs on a roaring fire and the smell of marshmallows toasting over the open flame.

Can you tell I love fall?

It's funny, but summer and fall are my favorite seasons. Summer is when everything comes to life including us and we celebrate the outdoors. Fall is a celebration of color, long walks, and coziness.

Another reason I love September is that it is the month of my birth. Yes, September is my birthday! That being said, I am taking a page out of a friend of mine's book rather than celebrate my birthday for just that one day, it is my intention to celebrate my birthday all month long.

Oh! Don't even think about asking me my age! :-)

First, the month is nine days down and I have yet to celebrate. Well, that may not be totally true. I did spend Sunday planting a bunch of flowers and I ordered a boat load of bulbs that I will get to plant when they arrive.

Other than that, nope, I haven't even had a bottle of champagne yet. That's because the actual day has not arrived.

So how do I celebrate all month and where do you come in?

I am so very glad you asked. :-)

1. I still need a digital picture of a street sign with the name Charley on it. For those of you who don't know, my friend Gina Leuci takes pictures of street signs as a hobby and because they make terrific and unique gifts when framed.

In my case, the names on the street signs are names of my characters in my novels. Cool idea, huh? Anyway, you can help me celebrate my birthday by sending me a picture of the name Charley on it. I would be grateful in the form of a book.

I will gladly exchange a copy of either of my books for a picture of a green "Charley" street sign.

2. If you live in New England and are reading my book for your book club, email me and invite me to your meeting. Send me a picture of your club reading one of my novels.

3. If you don't live in New England and are reading my book for your book club, email me and invite me to be on a phone call with your group to discuss the book.

4. Signup for the Wine Mystery Event I am planning with Zorvino Vineyards on November 13, 2009 by clicking here.

5. Attend a group book event at the Borders store in Concord, NH on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 2 PM. Join Nora LeDuc, CJ West, and me for some suspense and mystery.

6. Need a speaker for an upcoming event, why not ask a local author? Email me.

7. Are you a published author? Would you like to have your book featured in my Book-A-Week Challenge and an interview posted on my blog? Email me.

Last but not least. . .

Beyond all these nice and lovely things that would make my birthday celebration all the better, what I need or would like from you all are some other suggestions how you think I could celebrate?

What would you do for 30 days to celebrate your special month?

Post your ideas or comments back here. I look forward to reading your ideas. In the meantime, I have to go finish responding to last week's writing prompt and then read!

A new writing prompt

Yesterday's writing prompt was so fun, I thought I would give another one.

Prompt: The day started off pretty much like any other . . .

Don't forget to share what you come up with. Remember to make it a hook!

Writing Prompt Response

Okay - so here's my shot at yesterday's writing prompt.

Prompt: When she discovered. . .

Answer: When she discovered her date wore pink women's underwear with frills, Jane did not stick around to find out what else he may or may not have. She bugged out. Running for the door in high heels, she never even glanced back at the deep voice that yelled for her to wait. In spite of running short of breath, she never even considered stopping until the deep voice yelled, "Stop, police."

She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, the big man in pink lace panties stood there holding what appeared to be a police badge. She gulped and started to laugh. Then he moved, coming toward her.

"No flippin' way." Jane turned and bolted out the door and down the cement steps. Let him chase after her in public in those barely-there undies.