Saturday Seven (Feb 23, 2019)

Happy Saturday, What have you been up to this week? I had a long to-do list and I got off course a few times but overall it is all good! Here is a run down of highlights for the week. I hope you find then useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer is to always Pay-It-Forward so please let me know how I can help you. YES YOU!
Enjoy your Weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!
~Amy

•  What am I Reading? –  This week I could not put down Gavin by Russell, a crime thriller for the ages! Love, Love, love it! Also took some time to read a terrific blog post on Social Media Marketing by Jenn Hanson-dePaula at Mixtus Media - My Secret to Creating Successful Social Media Posts. Very interesting and insightful, you can follow Jenn on Twitter @mixtusmedia

•  What am I Listening to? – Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you are a writer or any kind of artist, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is inspiring in its look at the source and life of creative thinking and living a creative life. This will be the third time I’ve listened to it on Audible and I just drink it in! Read my review on my blog for more details.
•  What Quote am I pondering? ~ You don't have to do the picture, you don’t have to do the autograph, but it's important to take that moment to make a human connection. ~ Cindy Crawford (Happy Birthday, Cindy!)
•  What am I Researching? – I am always attempting to better myself not only as a writer but as a person. Researching and reading up on the latest, greatest and sometimes the past. As a writer aka business owner, I have been researching how success works and who are the leaders. One of the people I have found very helpful is Tim Ferriss (@tferriss. He gave me the idea for a Saturday Seven from his Five Bullet Friday Emails (thank you, Tim!)
• Yummy Meal of the week – This week we were working on a tight budget so no Taco Bell! Instead, I fixed an amazing Zucchini Lasagna using the zucchini as the lasagna noodles! It was super delish! Check out the recipe here. 
• What did I Learn this week? –  BIG lesson for me this week, on allowing myself to feed into a sudden feeling of being overwhelmed. I am a Mother of four, and a full-time corporate employee along with a writer. I am writing a blog post on how to juggle and how momentum is awesome and terrifying at the same moment.  I am learning it is okay to take a step back, take a breath, regroup and start again instead of allowing myself to be overwhelmed and anxiety-ridden over not being in complete control.  I can do this. I am doing this. I will achieve my goals.
• What am I Watching? – New on Netflix is The Umbrella Academy, the show is very interesting and beyond entertaining. It reminds me of a cross between The Watchmen and High School Musical. Corny and comical at times it also has a deeper message that is subtle in its context.  I’ve also read a bunch on the graphic-novel creator, Gerard Way who was the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance until 2013.

 Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line, or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

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Friday Food Love - Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil

Have I expressed how much I do not cook? My ex-husband was the chef of the house so when we split households I needed to become the chef uber-fast. Here is a quick, easy and yummy way to make it happen!

Ingredients

Kosher salt

1/2 cup good olive oil, plus extra for the pot

2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)

4 pints small cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

18 large basil leaves, julienned

2 tablespoons chopped fresh curly parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3/4 pound dried capellini or angel hair pasta

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Extra chopped basil and grated Parmesan, for serving

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt and a splash of oil to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften but don't break up.

While the tomatoes are cooking, add the capellini to the pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl, add the tomatoes and Parmesan and toss well. Add some of the pasta water if the pasta seems too dry. Serve large bowls of pasta with extra basil sprinkled on top and a big bowl of extra Parmesan on the side.

 View on foodnetwork.com

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Awesome Excerpts Thursday - What Happens in Bangkok – Bk 1 – Two Hearts One Love Trilogy by Daryl Devoré

Blurb

To save Darien's life his brother asks, "Can you walk in high heels?"

Erika Bailey, owner/manager of a drag queen club in Bangkok, Thailand has happily settled into all aspects of her new life, except for her lack of a love life. When a new diva auditions, Erika is bewildered over her instant attraction to the blond God, Apollo.

Darien Scott is on vacation after a world tour and mistakenly figures the safest place to be is at The Black Dragon with the head of a Triad. When the club is hit, Darien is the only person to get out alive. Now   he's running from the police and a Triad. Mistake number 1.

Disguised as a drag queen, he's hired by Erika, but falls hard for his new boss, then struggles with not coming clean with her. Mistake number 2.

Can he fix his mistakes and find a life filled with love or is he headed straight for mistake number 3?

eXtasy Books

Excerpt

Darien's stomach rumbled. "Love some. Kinda hungry. I'll be right out."

After dressing and eating breakfast, Darien settled back in his chair and released a long sigh.

"Feeling better this morning?" His brother grinned.

Darien nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. I so owe you."

"Hell yes, you do. First time Alonzo and I get the same night off in months, and you blow in bloody as hell, trying to escape from a Triad hit." Brian gulped back his coffee. "So now we just have to figure out how to hide you."

"Blond."

Darien glanced at Stewart.

"Dye his hair blond and shave the face fuzz, and no one's going to know who he is."

Brian pushed his chair back and stood. "Pretty drastic, but a good idea, until you can get out of here." He tossed his dishes in the sink.

Darien rubbed his chin. "Won't be on tour for a while, so I can always grow it back. I don't want to die and I'm gonna, if they find me."

Sandee swallowed the last of his breakfast. "Do you know if they are looking for you? The cops, I mean."

"I'd say they are." Lennie looked up. "Watched the news this morning, and the cops have the security video from the Dragon. They did a body count and you're missing. They have your face on the TV asking if anyone's seen you."

"Shit!" Darien thumped his hand on the table. "The cops are gonna want to know what I know about this. Bleeding Sun's gonna wanna know if I saw their shooters, and Nai Jâhng's gang is probably very curious about how I ended up being the only person who got out alive. They're gonna assume I was involved." He rested his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands. "I am so fucked."

"Not necessarily."

Darien's brow furrowed as he stared at Stewart, who waggled his eyebrows at Brian.

"Brilliant." Brian grinned at his brother. "Question. Can you walk in high heels?"

Buy it now!

 


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Finders Bucket List - Edinburgh Manor, Iowa

In my upcoming release, Finders, the Finders Ghost Hunting team have been all over the world investigating paranormal events. One of the places on their ghost bucket list is -- 

Edinburgh Manor, Iowa

The town of Edinburgh was originally the county seat of Jones County. In June

1840, the land located at section 36 in Wayne Township was originally deeded for courthouse purposes with the grant being signed by President Buchanan. Shortly after this grant the county seat was changed from Edinburgh and the commissioners kept the grant for the establishment of the County Poor Farm. Described as a "comfortable retreat for the lazy, able-bodied and willingly dependent applicants," the Poor Farm housed the poor, incurably insane and disabled. Tenants were given shelter and food for their labor. They would farm agriculture and livestock. The poor farm was in operation from 1850-1910 and in that time there were over 80+ documented deaths on the property.

In 1910, the poor farm closed down and was demolished. Edinburgh Manor was then constructed from 1910-1911 to house the incurably insane, the poor and the elderly. Edinburgh Manor, also referred to as The Manor, was in operation until November 2010.

It was opened up to paranormal investigations in the summer of 2012. Medical documents and personal belongings can still be found in The Manor. When the last patients and employees left the building in 2010, they never returned.

There is so much mystery to Edinburgh Manor and it is one of the most haunted locations in the state of Iowa.

 http://edinburghmanor.wixsite.com/edinburgh/history

 

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Saturday Seven! (February 16th 2019)

• What am I Reading? – I spent most of the week reading the Mother of all Things by Gabriel Blake. Look for my review on Sunday! Also read Kristen Lambs amazing blog - Drudgery: What Separates Those Who Dream From Those Who DO. I am all about the quick reads and so I love Pocket (if you don’t use it GET IT!) You can follow me and offer suggestions to others on what YOU are reading! This week’s favorite is Time Management Hacks That Very Successful People Practice Daily I have also recently discovered the Curiosity App (again a must for your mind) Curiosity offers quick 5 minute articles on everything from space exploration, to time management.

• What am I Listening to?  I am always listening to Bob Mayer’s Novel Writer’s Toolkit. Also started listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear as suggested by the fabulous Kristen Lamb! In my spare time I LOVE the Beyond Reality Radio Podcast with Jason Hawes and JV Johnson. They are awesome talking about ghost hunting, psychics, aliens and conspiracy theories.

• What Quote am I pondering? ~ Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. — Confucius ~

• What am I Researching? – Writing a book is full of research as you all know. I spent my time this week looking up bible quotes, writings on Demonology and Ancient symbols. Also spent some time researching CBD oil and its uses for Anxiety. My daughter suffers from severe anxiety and we have started her on a CBD regiment. I will let y’all know what happens!

• Yummy Meal of the week – Taco Bell usually is awesome going down, but I regret it a few hours later (don’t deny it we have all been there) my 14-year-old son craves it on a regular basis and I usually do not get anything but this week I tried a new menu item. It is called POWER MENU STEAK - you have the choice of a Burrito or a Bowl. I choose the Burrito this time, but I LOVE the bowl option to cut out the carbs of a flour tortilla.  Anyway, very tasty and I was not regretting it hours later!

• What did I Learn this week? – Kinda funny and a reference to my day job, I learned how to us the IF function utilizing a date rage in a TRUE / FALSE scenario. So AWESOME! (Yes, I am a total excel nerd!). I also learned that I am not a fan of 3^rd person writing as a reader. Not something I ever realized before, interesting, I think it is because I am a writer.

• What am I Watching? – I am a TOTAL geek when it comes to good TV and Movies. This week I binge watched Haunted on Netflix – it was interesting--I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of resolution to the tales but as it is reality, I guess there usually are not happy endings. Then caught up on the current season of The Gifted.

Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line, or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

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Friday Food Love - Honey-Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs

I love a man who can cook, but I am cooking for myself and the kids these days so I am collecting yummy easy recipes and sharing them with you! I keep all of my recipes, shopping lists and to-do Calendars safe in my Cozi App.

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil

Preparation

Lay chicken thighs into the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker.
Whisk soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, and basil together in a bowl; pour over the chicken.
Cook on Low for 6 hours.

 View on allrecipes.com

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