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So my niece’s birthday party is tomorrow, and since my To Do list is longer than the list of diets I’ve tried over my lifetime, I’m just now getting around to figuring out what to get her.  This was one of those things I meant to do every day for the past two weeks and I just never quite got there.  So, first thing this morning, I’m out surfing Toys R Us online for toys for 2-year-olds and hoping like hell if I find a good one that it will actually be sitting in the store waiting for me when I get there.  A lot of people in my position would just run to the store, grab a present and be done with it.  But this little girl has a very special place in my heart and of course, I want her to love the present Aunt Tina & Uncle Jon got her!  (Yeah, yeah, I was just reminded that Cousin Darian as well as Rusty & Katie–our tabby cats–are giving this too.)  Too bad they aren’t all chipping in on the gift!

I call Roo the little miracle baby.  Her name is actually Megan, but she was born three months early and spent her first three months in an incubator at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (a place that definitely gets my donation dollars!!)  She was soooo tiny when she was born - in fact I have a picture of her next to a dollar bill - and she was no wider than the bill, and the bill went from her head to mid thigh.

I got to be there while my sister was in labor, and this little tiny red bundle was born, and then she stretched out her long skinny little kangaroo legs and I immediately dubbed her “Roo.”  (By the way, if you don’t know who Roo is, you really need to brush up on your Winnie the Pooh! :)  Then for the next three months and even after she was able to come home, she had several of the normal “preemie” problems.  But now, she’s a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed two year old with a constant stream of energy and an even bigger streak of curiosity and creativity to enable her to get into mischief
Now my poor sister and brother in law are in the line of fire, so to speak, but I get to be the Auntie who spoils her, and I’ll most likely be the Auntie who tells her all the stuff her parents won’t when she gets older…lol.  (Shhh!  Don’t tell my sister!)

Anyway, I digress.  Not sure if you’ve looked at Toys R Us or even the toys on Amazon lately but there are enough choices that it makes your head swim.  Not to mention that this little cutie has lots of toys already, so creative gift buying in order.  And unlike her Auntie, she isn’t a hard core tomboy - she’s an equal opportunity girl.  She likes dolls and pink and high heels and dress up as much as she likes trucks and getting dirty.

So after an hour of surfing and reading reviews, I finally narrowed it down to My First Purse, which is a sturdy little purple and pink purse with fun plastic stuff inside like play lipstick and cell phone and keys etc.  and a GeoTrax:  Working Town Railway System which is a durable train and train track that can either be played manually or with a remote control, and makes cool noises that will probably get on my sister’s nerves - tee hee!  And best of all, there are several other sets that will hook into this one like an airport, a lifting barrel loader and other cool stuff.  I’m still wavering, but I guess it will come down to which one is sitting on the shelf when I get to Toys R Us, or worse - if neither is there, I have to start all over!!  Damn - me and my procrastination!
Anyway - once I figure this out - then the actual birthday party is tomorrow.  Party - no problem, throw in family from both sides and a few select friends…and I’m really looking forward to the male review Brit is taking us all to tomorrow night!
I know I should’ve asked this earlier, but does anyone know any great toys for a 2 year old cute & rambunctious girl?

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Tonight I met with three good friends over some Butterscotch Martinis (of course), and some sushi.  And as any self-resecting woman knows, as soon as more than one woman goes out and orders drinks – it becomes an official GIRLS NIGHT OUT!  And one of the rules of such a night is that while drinking and eating (at least enough to float the alcohol), you have to tell stories about past sexcapades – the good, the bad, and the outrageously funny — past boyfriends, husbands both past and present, and work stories obnoxious enough to be included in a revival of the dilbert cartoon.  And each of these stories must have a snarky title such as the beach story, business card boy story, the underwear in the bar story, Mongo with the uncircumcised garden hose story, and other such descriptive names.  Which of course are told to laughs, giggles and appreciative gasps and guffaws.  But at least Kona Grill was nice enough not to kick us out for making too much noise.  (Yeah, it’s happened before — shocker, right?)  More likely, out waiters enjoyed listening to four women talking openly and exteremly descriptively about some of the more brazen and ‘free’ episodes in our lives.  No wonder our glasses were never lower than half full before our three — count ‘em, three – waiters were hovering at our elbows ensuring we had everything we needed…lol.  After several drinks, and as outrageous as some of our very true and factual stories are, we’ve decided that from here forward, with each retelling we need to add some fun embellishment.  That way when we are ninety, sitting around having rounds of Butterscotch Martinis, all those stories will be even more fun!  Hell, with that many retellings, those new details will just blend right in there, right? :)  Besides, that way none of us will get bored hearing the same stories over and over.  And since it’s every parent’s duty to remind their kids what scandalous behavior they participated in back in their prime - and beyond.  (I fully intend to be adding fun stories to my repetorie until the day I die - embellishment just adds to the excitement over time…lol) what better way to torture them, than to live outrageously and tell even better stories?!? :)  Anyway, a fitting end to any girl’s night out dinner has to be dessert.  (Hey, can’t have long detailed talks about sex without some chocolate, can you?)  So, we ordered the chocolate brownie and the turtle cheesecake, and went on to a brand new round of stories.  (Between the four of us, we probably have enough stories to last for an entire month of dinners…lol.)

So, what do four tipsy women do after several hours of talking sex, enjoying dessert and savoring butterscotch martinis?  Since we are responsible citizens who know better than to drink and drive, and Kona Grill is located at a very posh local mall, the next logical activity for us was (drumroll please…) DRUNK SHOPPING!!!!  (Okay, so it was tipsy shopping, which is a level down from buzzed shopping, and several levels under drunk shopping, but you get the idea.) 

Our first stop was MAC, a very cool makeup store, where in a similiar drunk shopping expedition last year I dropped quite a chunk of change.  Tonight, however, I was nice enough to help Kayce drop a chunk of change, while I made it out of there with only one $15 tube of lipstick.  (Kayce looks amazing with her new purchases, by the way!)

Then we headed over to Sephora’s briefly, back to MAC and then on to Victoria’s Secret.  What shopping trip — tipsy, drunk or otherwise — would be complete without lingerie shopping.  Not sure how many of you have checked out Victoria’s Secret lately, but there’s some great stuff in there.  However, I’m stubbornly sticking to my goal of continuing to lose weight so I can get back into the several drawer’s full of beautiful lingerie I already have.  My twenty-five pounds down over the past several months has allowed me to get into a few, so I’m holding out!  (Gotta go slowly so I don’t wear out my poor dh…lol)  Anyway, now that you’ve all gotten your ice pick out to erase that visual picture…lol…we’ll move on. 

April (an artist friend of ours who is one of those stunningly beautiful women, who still looks amazing after two children, and is such a great lady, you just can’t hate her for it) did buy several pairs of lacy/silky underwear.  They were so cute and sexy (and would most likely fit around my thigh…lol) but I’m sure her husband will very much appreciate her purchase.  (You can thank us later, CJ)
So, after several hours of female bonding and fun, we went our separate ways.  But not before I paused to truly appreciate how many great friends I have in my life.  Not only the three women who I shared company, drinks, stories and comraderie with tonight, but several others, including the rest of my beloved Butterscotch Martini Girls Critique Group, other fellow writers I’ve met throught this great career of writing who live all around the globe, as well as friends from my Corporate America days and my wonderful husband.  I’m truly blessed.  And since I know not everyone in the world is as blessed as me in this respect, I’m thankful each and every day for each and every good friend who touches my life.  You all make me a better person for knowing you, and I want you all to know you’re appreciated and loved.

So here’s to you ladies (and the few gents) - I raise a Butterscotch Martini to you for everything you do.

Tina

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Over the past few days, I’ve been enjoying being able to set my own schedule and write in the mornings, which is my most productive writing time.  Not to mention, hanging out at a favorite restaurant or two and a few Starbucks.  For some reason, the energy there allows me to plow right through my daily wordcount without all the distractions that I get at home. 

Anyway, it started at breakfast a few days ago.  I finish breakfast and ask for more hot water for my hot tea and I’m typing away making really good progress on a scene.  The waitress brings my hot water and asks, “What are you writing, a book?”  (The tone is playful and joking.)  Anyway, I reply, “Yes.”  Her steps falter, her brow furrows and she says, “Really?”  To which I reply, “Yes.”  I smile and start to tell her I’ll leave her some bookmarks when I go, but then she adopts the “smile.”  You know, the one that says, ‘Yeah, right.  This woman seriously thinks she’s writing a book.  Good luck with that.’  You all probably know exactly the one I’m referring to.  Anyway, when I leave, I leave several Stone Maiden and Fire Maiden book marks on the table, pull on the leather jacket and go to pay.

While I’m up paying, the same waitress comes up to talk to the three or four other waitresses standing around next to the woman who is taking my money.  She holds up my bookmarks and says, “Hey, you know that woman at table 29?  She really is a writer, look, she left these bookmarks!”  At that point I smiled and told her they were mine - she didn’t recognize me with the black jacket over my bright red shirt - and they all peppered me with questions and said they’d go check my website.  No harm, no foul, cute story for later - right?

Fast forward to yesterday where I had a very similar experience, not only at a different breakfast place, but also at Starbucks where I went for a few hours after I left the breakfast place.  I think I’m fascinated by the human reaction to writers.  People always are impressed/amazed and sort of in awe - once they find out we are published and are actually working writers already.  But if they think we aren’t published yet and just struggling to write that first book, then they are all politely condescending.  What’s up with that?  I mean, aren’t the unpublished struggling authors the ones who need the most support and understanding?  Things that make you go, ‘hmmmm’ as Arsenio used to say
On that note, I hope everyone has a great holiday!  I ate breakfast at home today, but I am planning another Starbucks writing block in a bit, so who knows what will happen today…lol.  Wish me luck!

Tina Gerow
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Sexy, Snarky, Sensuous
www.tinagerow.com
Fire Maiden - Available Now at your local Book Store
Knights of the Magical Realm:  Warriors Gone Wild - Anthology coming October 2006 in Print & in eBook from Triskelion
Stone Maiden - Available Now in Print & in eBook at Triskelion Publishing
Take It Off - Available now at Triskelion Publishing
Into a Dangerous Mind - Available Now at Triskelion Publishing
 

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Yup - I’m an official slacker.  I’m grateful to Kacie for posting yesterday.  My day to blog is Tuesdays, but since we have either critique group or one of the RWA local chapter meetings every Tuesday, I’m hardly ever on time with my Tuesday posts.  Oh well - good thing Kacie was on the ball!

So, I’m celebrating my first free hours of a long four day weekend, and at the suggestion of a few of the other Butterscoth Martini girls last night at critique group - I thought I’d post a few recipes just in time for Thanksgiving, or whatever festivities you practice this time of year.

First up is the wonderful ambrosia which gave us our name - Butterscotch Martinis! 

Take equal parts Buttershots, Baileys (any flavor) and vodka (vanilla is yummy here), put in a shaker with either cubed or crushed ice (I’ve found crushed works best) - shake well and strain into your favorite martini glass.  Our favorite set of bartenders at our critique group bar line the glass with caramel and put a cherry in it before pouring the butterscotch martini in - it’s a great decadent touch!  Also, if it’s a bit too strong, back off on the vodka just a tad, and you won’t get that ‘I could start my car with this stuff’ feeling.  But if you like your drinks like our heroes - stiff, hard and makes your head swim (tee hee), then stick with the equal parts or edge up on the vodka.  Experimentation is the way to go here.  In fact, we had an author sleepover weekend as Isabella’s house several months back and I ended up as the designated bartender.  Several thousand iterations later, I have a pretty good personal preference recipe.

The second recipe is for Edamames. 

For those of you not familiar - these are a green vegatable that’s actually yummy.  They are flash boiled soybeans in the pods.  They serve them at most sushi and some seafood restaurants.  They don’t sound great, but believe me, they are really good and very addicting - and best of all - they are non guilt!  That’s right - they are good for you.  High in protein, high in taste and low in all the bad stuff.  You can find these in the frozen food section of your grocery store in platic bags and they are simply called edamames.  I usually get a large pot, fill it with water, toss in a few pinches of kosher salt and bring it to a boil.  Once it’s at a full boil - toss in three to four bags (depending on the size of your pot) of edamames and flash boil for four minutes.  Drain and sprinkle with kosher salt and enjoy.  These are great warm, or I’ll put them in a large ziploc bag and put them in the fridge for snacks.  You just eat the soybeans out of the pods, and they are like addictive finger foods.

True, these aren’t exactly Thanksgiving norms, but nice additions for some spice in your Thanksgiving routine.  Anyway - I’m off to blog on my tinagerow.com site.  Come on over and visit - and have a great holiday weekend!

Tina Gerow
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Sexy, Snarky, Sensuous
www.tinagerow.com
Fire Maiden - Available Now at your local Book Store
Knights of the Magical Realm:  Warriors Gone Wild - Anthology coming October 2006 in Print & in eBook from Triskelion
Stone Maiden - Available Now in Print & in eBook at Triskelion Publishing
Take It Off - Available now at Triskelion Publishing
Into a Dangerous Mind - Available Now at Triskelion Publishing
 

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Thought everyone would enjoy some kick-ass gargoyles in one of their favorite workouts.

As soon as Kefira stepped through the gate, a skeletal hand broke through the ground in a spray of dust and closed around her ankle.  Adrenaline flowed through her and she willed the iridescent fairy wings tattoo between her shoulder blades to change.  A sudden ripping sound tore a curse from her as the weight of her wings settled against her back.  “I’m definitely not dressed for this!”  Her favorite shirt sagged where it had ripped down the back to make way for her wings.  “Damn it, I’ve had that for two years.” She quickly adjusted her stance so the weight of her large leathery black wings didn’t topple her over. 
                The bone hand continued to constrict, digging painfully into her skin.  She concentrated, willing her foot and ankle to turn to stone—the familiar cold flowed over her skin causing goose bumps to pebble over the rest of her body.
                “Are you done playing with that thing?”  Odeda stood just outside the gate, her arms crossed over her generous cleavage.
                Ignoring her, Kefira kicked her leg forward, ripping the skeletal hand from whatever body it previously attached to underground.
                “Nice ankle bracelet,” Odeda observed as her own wings flowed into existence to billow around her.  “Notice I remembered to remove my jacket before bringing my wings out to play.  Why the hell do you think I have so many bustiers?”
                Kefira ignored her sister’s jibe and glanced down to see the stubborn bone hand still curled around her ankle and shrugged.  “It’s welcome to come along for the ride as long as it doesn’t get in my way.”
                The sisters walked toward the center of the gravestones as other skeletal body parts broke through the cracked ground all around them.  Kefira stood about eight feet away from her sister at an angle, so their wings didn’t tangle when they needed to maneuver and turned both arms to stone from the elbow down.  “Deda, why didn’t you tell me where we were going?  I would’ve brought Lileth.”
                “Because swords are for those who can’t handle hand to hand combat.” The familiar argument caused Kefira to grind her teeth, but Odeda continued as if she didn’t know she’d punched at Kefira’s defenses once again.  “And we’ve got skills to handle these guys in our sleep.”  Deda flashed a grin.  “Besides, tearing some skeleton apart with your bare hands will release more frustration than just merely chopping them up with a souped up kitchen knife.”
                “I like my souped up kitchen knife.” Kefira looked over at Odeda’s stone hands and raised her eyebrows in question.
                “Okay, with our bare stone hands,” Odeda amended.
                Now full skeletons crawled from their graves, some wearing the clothes they were buried in and others, nothing but pristine white bones—held together by necromancy.  They shuffled toward the sisters in an ever-tightening circle.
                Her mind calm and clear from the sudden surge of adrenaline, Kefira watched them, anticipation of the fight to come, sharp on her tongue.  This she could do without struggling with her emotions.  Killing skeletons or whatever other beastie happened to be in need of a quick death was straightforward and easy.  Why couldn’t things with Dagan be so simple? 
                The thought of the weakness she’d shown when Dagan passed out earlier washed through her, a tidal wave of embarrassment followed quickly by anger and she struck out at the nearest group of skeletons.  Her stone arm plowed through their ribcages, the sound of cracking bones filling the humid Texas air.
                More ripping and crunching sounded behind her assuring her Odeda was similarly engaged, but she knew from centuries of fights much more dangerous than this one, that Deda could more than hold her own.  She grabbed a fallen femur bone and used it like a baseball bat to decapitate an oncoming skeleton wearing a blonde poufy cocktail waitress wig.  The skull with perfectly coiffed hair still attached sailed out over the fence and disintegrated as soon as it left the magic confines of the graveyard.
                “Nice hit, giant cousin.”  Kefira glanced up to see Alonna the fairy, floating just overhead studying them with her large liquid lavender eyes.  Her flowing blonde hair barely covered her shapely nude form, while her tiny wings blurred from their effort to keep her aloft.  As always, she looked like a nude anatomically generous Barbie doll come to life.
                Bony hands closed around Kefira’s throat, jerking her attention back to the fight at hand.  She pried the hands from her neck and used the arms to beat back the rest of the body.
                Odeda’s voice came from behind her.  “Did you come to spy on us, Alonna?  Or were you just bored?”
                Alonna giggled, the sound like musical bells flowing over Kefira’s skin.
                “If I wanted to spy, I wouldn’t have materialized, now would I?”  She flew over to perch on top of the black bars that made up the ancient metal gate.  “I came to deliver some prophesy, but I can wait while you enjoy your combat.”
                Kefira executed a roundhouse kick, knocking back a new wave of skeletons and followed up with sweep of her stone arm to keep them down.  “I was hoping to get away from the prophesy, Alonna.  Can’t this wait?”
                “Isn’t that what I just said?”  She stamped her foot against the gate and shrugged, her arms held wide.  “You’re becoming as bad as the man-things.  I understand your frustration at the original man-thing, but this shouldn’t wait too long.  I deliver the prophesy with the timing that it keeps you informed for the coming battles ahead.  Without the knowledge I deliver, you could make choices you will regret.”
                Kefira snorted at Alonna’s comment as she whirled to attack the skeletons that had been trying to tear at her tough leathery wings.  I’ve regretted tons of my choices in the past that had nothing to do with the prophesy.
                “Exactly my point,” Alonna answered as Kefira’s temper sparked at the fairy reading her internal thoughts.  “If you don’t want me to know your thoughts, stop thinking them.”  She crossed her arms over her full but bare cleavage.  “I can’t help that I can hear them.”
                Kefira spun around to face the last standing skeleton at the same time Odeda did.  She grabbed one arm and leg and Deda grabbed the other and they pulled—a monster wishbone.  The skeleton’s body made a large popping sound as it broke apart and fell to the ground.  Then all sound around them suddenly ceased—almost loud in its silence.  The bones littering the graveyard disappeared, including her bone ankle bracelet, which suddenly turned to gray dust, coating the barren ground once again.
Tina Gerow
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Sexy, Snarky, Sensuous
www.tinagerow.com
Fire Maiden - Available Now at your local Book Store
Knights of the Magical Realm:  Warriors Gone Wild - Anthology coming October 2006 in Print & in eBook from Triskelion
Stone Maiden - Available Now in Print & in eBook at Triskelion Publishing
Take It Off - Available now at Triskelion Publishing
Into a Dangerous Mind - Available Now at Triskelion Publishing
 

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