Easter Bunny Night

I caught a shot of what looks like the Easter Bunny in a store parking lot!

I had to wonder about the boy following the bunny around... was he looking for eggs?

Poaching Daisies AND FREE UNIQUE POTTERY by the talented Carole Thayne Warburton!

Who is Trying to Silence Penny?
Penny Thorton's dreams of being a park ranger start to unravel her first
week on the job when she finds a dead bear in Yellowstone's backcountry.
Shots are fired as she runs away, but once she tells the authorities, all
evidence evaporates. Penny's aunt Iris, who is bent on eradicating an
invasive species of daisy from the park, puts that mission on hold when
more bears are killed and she becomes entangled in the mystery. After
several attempts on Penny's life, she and Iris learn to trust no one, not
even their friends.

To celebrate the release of Poaching Daisies, the talented Carole Thayne Warburton (see her photo below - she's the one with the bright smile, not the one with laid-back ears!) is giving away a $50 gift certificate to her ETSY shop--Paradise Pottery! (It sounds divine, doesn't it?) Her beautiful pottery makes this a giveaway you don't want to miss. Want to win?  Of course you do, so follow the easy instructions below. Go ahead and enter! (You'll be glad you did!):
1. Leave a comment telling us what you liked about the review (see my review beneath the rugged book cover below) and why you are excited to read Poaching Daisies. For each review you comment on, you'll receive a separate entry. Don't forget to include your email address!
March 24: Janet Jensen
March 25: Julie Coulter Bellon
March 26: Liz Adair
March 27: Braden Bell
March 28: Shirley Balhmann
March 29: Stephanie Worlton

2.  Tweeting about the review, or posting to your blog or Facebook will earn you additional entries. (Fist Pump - Yessss!) Just leave us a link in the comments section to your post.

Contest ends April 3, 2013. You could be the winna-winna-winna of one-of-a-kind, conversation piece pottery!

If you've never been to Yellowstone Park, "Poaching Daisies" will take you there with vivid descriptions and actual place names. You can depend on author Carole Thayne Warburton's accuracy, since she's visited Yellowstone over 70 times! (Do you think that perhaps she might like to live there?)

I had to wonder about the title when I first began reading, but the significance soon became evident with the introduction of a spunky young woman ranger named Penny, her all natural Aunt Iris, and her aunt's nemesis, a hunter named Russ. With fast action, (sometimes a little bit fast for me), the mystery of who's shooting at Penny with intent to kill unravels.

Not only does this story present a life and death mystery, but also addresses the question of how much conservation is too much? Without giving away the ending, I'll say that a certain lucrative Yellowstone Park commodity surprised me. Warburton knows her genre, and delivered the information in a unique, entertaining way.

There's give and take in relationships throughout this story, which sometimes  addresses wildly fluctuating emotions. The stakes raise even higher as the story progresses to its deadly climax.

If you enjoy adventure in the outdoors, you should enjoy "Poaching Daisies" from an author who knows what the outdoors is all about. 

Funny Food

Have you ever heard of a mountain of potatoes? (What's up with the sky-high potato pile? Wasn't there a bigger bowl in the back of the cupboard somewhere?)

How about an Easter Egg hunt? (The problem is, it wasn't Easter, and I was in no mood for hunting. I'd thought the chickens were duds, roosters in drag, until we found a stash of eggs in their secret hiding place. Of course the lovely nest boxes with straw weren't good enough.) Unsure of how old each egg was, we ended up feeding them to the dog. She approved of every single one.

Then there's the popcorn game. It's where you pick up a single kernel of popcorn and decide what it looks like before eating. Very entertaining, and low calorie, too, since it takes so long to eat a bowl of popcorn this way!

And we can't forget the happy hotcakes! (Except that the bear seems to be feeling more neutral. While gazing at this picture, I must ask myself, is it truly appetizing to chew on what appear to be bear's lips?)

Some of these foods may tempt you, some may turn off your appetite. The simple truth is that people like to eat different things, and people like to read different things. That's why we have different authors and styles of writing, so that the whole world can be happy.

What do you like to write? What do you like to read?

Has Anyone Bitten Your Head Off Lately?

Here I am with my head between a bear's jaws. This situation fits how I've felt about some of the things that have been going on in my life recently. I don't want to go into detail because I'm taking part in a happiness seminar that reminded me to, "Take responsibility for yourself and don't blame anyone else for what's wrong in your life!" So I'm not. (Do I get an "A"?)

If this were a real bear with real muscle, I could find myself gazing into heaven in just a minute! Since I'm actually controlling the bear's jaws, I didn't go down the tunnel or see the light, so go ahead and scroll down to the next post (AHA!) to read about a most interesting book dealing with people who really died. Go ahead, gaze into heaven... and you don't even need to get your head bitten off to do it!

Have you ever wanted to "Gaze Into Heaven?"

Shirley says: Having personally dabbled in writing not only history but also in the paranormal field, it was interesting to delve into Marlene Sullivan's "Gaze into Heaven" which is a masterful combination of both. This book is worthy of any scholar as well as curiosity seeker, with its first-hand accounts of death from historical figures accompanied by thorough footnotes. I especially liked the section toward the end that compared past near-death experiences with modern ones. I recommend this fascinating read to everyone who wonders what will happen when they die.

(Scroll past the captivating cover for even more information on this great read!)

  

          Backliner: Gaze Into Heaven is a carefully compiled collection of more than 50 near-death experiences that occurred during the early years of the Church. These documented accounts give fascinating glimpses into the Spirit World by those who have actually been there. Besides being filled with stories of insight and inspiration, Gaze Into Heaven has pertinent quotes from latter-day Prophets and other leaders, scriptures, and perceptive commentary. After reading this book, you will never think of life—or death—in the same way.

        Endorsement from Alice Gold: “I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! I can't even tell you how grateful I am to you for writing it. My 12 year old nephew died in May and this has been a healing balm to my soul. I can't wait to send a copy to my brother. I have always been afraid to die, but not now. This book has power in its pages.”

          Most of us have wondered exactly what will happen when we die. What does the Spirit World look like? Will we see departed family members and friends? What do people do there? Do spirits there know what is happening on earth? What did people who had near-death experiences learn from their visit? All of these questions and many more are answered in Gaze Into Heaven. There have been many books written about modern day near-death experiences, but this book is the first to focus solely on those that took place in early church history.

          Studying near-death experiences can bless us with a better understanding of this life and increase our knowledge of the life to come. By reading about those who actually entered the spirit world and saw conditions there, we can benefit from the insights they gained and use that information to reevaluate our lives and use our time on earth productively. Choose one of 3 links to get your own copy of "Gaze Into Heaven" online!: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gaze-Into-Heaven-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/1462111270/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360955844&sr=8-1&keywords=gaze+into+heaven

Deseret Book: http://deseretbook.com/Gaze-Into-Heaven-Marlene-Bateman-Sullivan/i/5105020

Seagull Book: http://www.seagullbook.com/lds-products-770255.html

(Also also available at physical LDS bookstores, such as Deseret, Seagull, and others.)

Be sure to visit Marlene Sullivan's website at: www.marlenebateman.info where you'll find all kinds of interesting things about her, including how she came up with the title: "It's from a quote by Joseph Smith. It’s a really cool quote, but a bit lengthy, so I’ll shorten it a little.  Joseph Smith said; “All men know that they must die . . . it is important that we should understand the reasons . . . of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world . . . and our departure hence. . . It is a subject we ought to study more than any other. . . Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that was ever written on the subject.” Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Period I, vol. 6, (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 9 October, 1843), 50. 

Duane S. Crowther, author of Life Everlasting—A Definitive Study of Life After Death says: “With this book, Marlene Bateman Sullivan has done a valuable service for Latter-day Saint readers. Previous life-after-death studies published brief extracts from numerous sources and combined them to define spirit-world events and conditions. Returning to those sources, she has compiled many of their complete accounts, which add additional insights that will be enjoyed by many. Well done!”  

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Sick? Might as well smile!

The best humidifier I ever owned had fish that "swam" around in the water. When, to my sorrow, the humidifier finally died (probably because I didn't use distilled water), I kept the fish with the intention of making earrings out of them some day.

My faith in happy humidifiers was restored when I spied these whimsical humidifiers that, though fish-less, can still make you smile if you're feeling congested.

The funny thing about this penguin is that it also looks like he may be exhaling smoke. That's not a great image if you already aren't breathing very well.

I don't know what the cow, pig, or duck humidifiers do with their steam. I'll leave that to your imagination.

Truly, the best thing I've found to keep myself well and writing is gargling with warm salt water each morning. While colds have run through my family, I was untouched, until January 2013. I was stunned to have a stuffy nose and cough until my neighbor asked, "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

My honest answer was "no." SO, with enough sleep and daily salt water gargles, you can be healthy and writing for days to come!

Oh, and a spoonful of sugar ALWAYS takes my hiccups away!

Since we've got to be healthy to write our best and longest, what's your best health care tip?

WRITE HERE IN EPHRAIM - BIG SUCCESS!

Presentation Matters

I don't care how long your nose is or how sallow your skin or limp your hair (or no hair, as the case may be.) What matters is that you're as clean and neat as possible.

The same goes for boxes.

(What?)

When I went to LTUE and put out my flyers for WRITE HERE IN EPHRAIM (two days away! We'll be playing and writing on SATURDAY, MARCH 9, in EPHRAIM, UTAH!...the geographical belly button of the state) I made a display out of paper I scrounged, a red marker that I use as lipstick, and a tissue paper box. See the result below: 

Following lukewarm response, I went to my sister, Loraine's, house where she made me a more professional looking display (on back corner in photo below.)

Which one would you want to be associated with? The clean? Or the clean AND neat?

The funny thing is that as soon as my son Monkey put out the new sign, four people flocked to the table and took flyers.

SO COME PLAY on SATURDAY! Check out the WRITE HERE IN EPHRAIM conference link at: http://shirleybahlmann.weebly.com/write-here-in-ephraim.html

You'll be glad you did.

(I'll be the six foot tall neat, clean person running around helping everyone.)

Not your Average Staircase, but the Stuff of Dreams

These stairs are on Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah. When my son Monkey and I were there for a writing conference, I couldn't resist taking a picture of him on the curvy stairs with pregnant pauses at each turn.

Then there's the staircase that looks like it was designed by someone who had a few too many cups of wine. The angle may look a bit off, but that's because the stairs go up and down at an angle I've never seen on a real staircase before.

You really have to hold onto the handrail while you play Alice In Wonderland who-ate-too-much-shape-shifting-cake.

I found these to be delightful stairways with unexpected turns and angles, just like the best stories we read. So when you're writing, throw in something unusual, make your story stick in your reader's minds, just like these stairways will stay in your head and haunt your dreams.

You're welcome.