I couldn’t resist!  It was on sale, half off.  A bargain!  It’s one of those trigger treats, the kind I only crave once a year and then can’t stop munching on after I’ve gotten it.  A handful here, a handful there, and then before I know it the whole bag is gone and I’m feeling slightly ill.  And not all candy corn is created equal either, in my opinion.  It has to be Brach’s.  Brach’s is moist, not chalky like some of that off-brand stuff.

What about you?  What trigger foods do you know to resist, but somehow always manages to win in the end?  (Ooo, I just remembered another one–Nutter Butters.  LOVE those.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about heroes lately and, more specifically, the kind that I’m drawn to.  In order to come to any sort of conclusion–which you will see I didn’t, lol–I asked myself who were my favorite heroes of all time.  First, of course, was Lord Dain from Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS.  He’s dark and brooding and wounded and would have been completely unredeemable without the heroine.

A very close second, which is a completely different type of hero, was Mr. Knightley from Jane Austen’s Emma.  Not to say that I don’t still adore Mr. Darcy, but ultimately Mr. Knightley is brilliant and honorable and funny, and he’s a hero throughout the story from beginning to end.  He scolds Emma for her shallowness, but he’s never truly unkind.  If you haven’t seen the BBC’s latest version of Emma starring Romola Garai (love her!!!) and Jonny Lee Miller, you definitely should.  It’s wonderful.

What about you?  Who is your favorite hero of all time?

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 I know there have been a lot of people unhappy with Netflix recently and, though I don’t like the price hikes or the Quikster/No Quikster issues, I have to say that I am still a huge fan of the service.  There is no better fix for an instant gratification junky than instant-streaming-no-interruptions-with-commericals-complete-seasons of television shows or series right at the end of your remote.  When I find something I like, I want to watch it ALL.  Right NOW.   Furthermore, Netflix offers lots of shows that have become absolute favorites that I would have never seen otherwise. 

The Duchess of Duke Street is an old show starring Gemma Jones and Christopher Casenove and it was utterly fabulous.  The thing that I particularly love about British television is that the actors aren’t perfect.  They’re not as obsessed with being skinny, tanned, botoxed and bleached to within an inch of their lives.  They look normal.  Identifiable.  The other thing that I really appreciate about British television is that they focus less on the hook of a story and more on character development.  That means the shows may be a little slower going in, but ultimately it’s really worth the wait.  With Gemma’s character, I didn’t always like her, but I always cared about her.  That’s a difficult balance.  I watched all 31 episodes of this series on my laptop.

Another series that I adored was Foyle’s War.  If you’re interested in WWII at all, this is a really, really good series starring Christopher Kitchens and Honeysuckle Weeks.  Each episode is like a movie–they’re an hour and forty minutes long.  This doesn’t stream instantly, but is available on DVD through Netflix.  My husband is really good at solving whodunits–infuriatingly so, actually–but he could not figure these out.  They’re excellent.  Foyle is a *wonderful* character.  Very understated, but brilliant.

Right now I’m on a Robin Hood kick and have been watching it at the end of the day as a treat to myself once I’ve gotten my work done.  I’d seen Richard Armitage in The Vicar of Dibley (love Dawn French–she’s my pretend BFF) and later saw him in North and South.  Humina, humina.  That voice.  Very good-looking, but even more talented.  I’d rather Lady Marian end up with Sir Guy (Richard’s character)  than Robin Hood.  Guy’s a true villian and cares for nothing…except her.  It thrills my little romantic soul.

 Other British shows I have really enjoyed are Only Fools and Horses, A Touch of Frost, The Darling Buds of May, Are You Being Served, Waiting For God, Keeping Up Appearances, anything by Masterpiece Theatre–Little Dorrit, Bleak House, Downton Abbey, all of the Jane Austen series, particularly Emma (with Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller) and many, many more, the bulk of which I would have missed if not for Netflix.

(Dark Shadows fans–every episode is now instant.  Squee!)

So what’s your TV pleasure?  What shows make your must-see list?

I adore fall.  By the time fall rolls around, I am so over summer, the miserable heat and humidity, that I am almost giddy when the cooler, crisp air comes in.  We have a large deck on the back of the house with a huge chiminea and lots of comfy chairs.  The dh and I spend many evenings by a fire and have been known to make a s’more or two. (Or three or four or five, but who’s counting?) 

Which brings me to the other thing I love about fall–the food.  Fresh baked breads and gooey casseroles, cinnamon rolls and warm soups.  It’s absolute hell on my diet, I can tell you that.  (I’ve joined a wellness center in anticipation of the fall food frenzy and am hoping that an hour on the treadmill will keep the extra pounds off.)

One of the things that my family especially likes me to make is a caramel pie, the kind made with nothing more than a can of Eagle Brand milk and a graham cracker crust.  You simply immerse a can (or two) of sweetened condensed milk into boiling water for three hours–rolling it around once in a while so that one side doesn’t cook more than the other–then take it out of the water and let it cool for a several minutes, pop open the can and pour the caramel-y goodness into the pie shell.  It’s *wonderful.*  If you’ve never tried it, you should. 

**Update**  I made this pie last night and wanted to pop back in and reiterate the whole “letting it cool” bit of instruction.  If you don’t let it cool long enough, hot caramel will spew out of the top of the can and, in my case, right onto my shirt. :[  Give it at least five to ten minutes before opening.

What about you?  Any old standby comfort foods you particularly want when the weather cools down?

Have you ever had an idea that just tickled you to death?  I had one of those recently and thought I’d share it here with you today.

My daughter turned sixteen last week and we hosted her party at our house.  She didn’t want a DJ, a dance floor or any of those things.  She wanted lots of flowers and paper lanterns and minute-to-win it games.  I made dozens of paper flowers out of silver, white and lilac paper and, while looking for the paper lanterns I discovered two things–they’re expensive and I couldn’t find any that really matched her theme.  That’s when ingenuity struck.  And when I found these.

I pulled out my clear Christmas lights and popped cupcake liners onto them.  It was ridiculously inexpensive and really, really pretty.  I strung 600 lights around the deck, put balloons and paper flowers everywhere (even made a big display and hung them from the light fixtures), but the cake (which I didn’t make) was the scene stealer.  It was lovely.

What about you?  Any great party/decorating ideas that you’re especially pleased with?

My oldest leaves for college a week from today. 

Right now there’s too much to do to focus on the fact that our nest will be one chick short this time next week–I’ve still got to get curtains, a rug, hangers, etc…–but I heartily dread the drive home without him.  He’ll only be around 4 hours away, but when I’m used to him steaming up the bathroom (he never remembers to turn on the fan) and guzzling milk from the jug in the fridge (yes, I know it’s gross) 4 hours is going to seem like a million.

I know that this will be good for him–he’s excited–and I think he’s made a really good choice when it comes to the college he’s decided to attend, it still seems incredibly surreal that this is happening.  It seems like only yesterday he was crawling across our living room floor toward a Pepsi can, taking his first steps toward the lighted Christmas tree. And now I look at him and, though I’m so, so proud of the handsome young man he’s grown into…he’s still my little boy.

*crying jag*

Sorry.  Should have known better than to choose this topic.  Anyway, for those of you who have little children/brothers/sisters/cousins/nieces and nephews as cliche as it sounds, cherish every moment.  They really do go by too fast.  And for those of you who have already sent your babies out into the cold, cruel world…any advice?

Morning, all!  So sorry that I forgot to get this up sooner!  I’m going to chalk it up to post-conference post-4th-of-July celebrating and move on.

I spent the bulk of last week in NYC for RWA’s national conference and, though I did get to spend some time with my writer friends, I actually spent more time touring around the city with my sister, niece and daughter.  Favorite thing by far was WICKED on Broadway.  The story, the music…loved every bit of it.  (In fact, I enjoyed it so much I did a search after I got home for the off-Broadway production schedule and am taking my mother in February.)  The Empire State Building at night was another treat.  It’s so quiet up there, the city lights and fireworks spread out in all directions.

Were you to ask my daughter what her favorite thing was, though, she would definitely tell you that it was the trip to Carlos’ Bakery (of Cake Boss fame) over in Hoboken, NJ.  We got up early, cabbed it over and were in line for two hours before we finally escaped with our pastries.  (The lobster tails were my favorite.)  It was worth it if for no other reason than to see my girl get all misty-eyed when she recognized several members of the family, most particularly Grace.  It was sweet and it’s a moment I’ll never forget.

I will also never forget the Naked Grandma Cowgirl in Times Square, but that’s a different sort of memory.  I’ve heard of the Naked Cowboy many, many times.  Why is it that no one ever mentions Naked Grandma Cowgirl? 

What about y’all?  Any trips planned for the summer?  If you’ve already taken your vacation, then where did you go?

These are things I need to know.

Here’s what’s happening in my head at the moment.  Be warned…

1.) Daughter introduced me to Pocket Frogs on my iPhone.  I played last night until my eyes were gritty.  I’m not proud.

2.) I’ve started Tweeting, so if you’re a fellow Tweeter, then you can follow me @RhondaRNelson.  I’m still learning and am intimidated by hashtags and some of the other things, but overall I like it.

3.) Someone should invent ketchup packets that are tall and thin and have the peel away lid like other sauces.  Why the messy pack???  We can put a man on the moon but we can’t come up with a better container for the world’s most beloved condiment?

4.) Son left for college orientation today and so far I’ve managed to avoid curling into a fetal ball and sucking my thumb.  Am told this will pass once I no longer have to do his laundry. 

5.) I am on a diet.  Again.  :::sigh:::  RWA conference is at the end of the month and I’ve got to carve off ten pounds to fit comfortably into “conference” clothes.  Sure, I could turn up in what I normally where to work , but my pajamas are a bit tattered and aren’t suitable for polite company.

6.)  Oh!   And for all of you who are voting members of RWA, I’m running for the Region Three Direction position.  Shameless plug, I know, but…

What about you?  What’s happening in your world at the moment?

My husband and I are constantly in disagreement when it comes to our yard. I want to plant lots of pretty flowers, shrubs and trees and he wants to be able to mow the yard without having to get off the John Deere. I understand this–truly. Weed-eating, edging, blowing the cut grass off the sidewalks and such isn’t fun. (Or at least I imagine it isn’t because I don’t do any of that.) But grass alone isn’t pretty and my potted plants just don’t satisfy my soul the way salvia and geraniums do. We’ve argued back and forth over the flower and shrub issue for the past couple of years, but last year I decided that I was going to mutiny and I planted a purple Rose of Sharon bush to the right of the driveway.

You can see where this is going, right?

First trip out on the lawn mower this season and he mowed it down.

Given our Battle of the Yard, I was convinced that it he did it on purpose, though he swears he simply didn’t see it. I’m still not sure what I believe, but am getting another Rose of Sharon bush as a replacement and an ornamental dogwood tree for emotional distress.

What about you? Are you a flowers-belong-in-pots kind of person, or like me, would you elimate the grass completely and have nothing but blooms, trees and vines?

I guess the title of this post speaks for itself. Today is my birthday and, despite the fact that I am officially saying goodbye to my thirties–which have been very good to me–I’m going to celebrate anyway. Because I didn’t want anything left to chance I have told my husband *exactly* what I want. What is that, you may ask? These.

Is this a pathetic attempt to cling to my glorious and occasionally misspent youth? Er…no. No, that’s not it at all. Really. I prefer to think of it as a nostalgic nod to my younger, cooler days. And Wayfarers are timeless, right? Iconic even. I need these.

And even though this is my birthday, I’m going to give ten lucky commenters a free book. I’ll pick random numbers from the comment tail tonight.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday.