Santa Hat

I wanted to make a fluffly little hat for my great-nephew. So on Saturday night I pulled out the sticks (or knitting needles) and some red yarn. I whipped up this tassled topping to throw into the Christmas card I'm mailing off.

How 'bout you, did you make any cool crafts this weekend?

Hot Spiced Wine

When the holidays roll around you can always tell at my house. There's an aroma wafting through the air of cinnamon, citrus and warm sizzling comfort. It's what I call Glogg but others call hot spiced wine, mulled wine or Christmas Cheer.

Ingredients:

1 Jug of red wine
1-2 apples sliced
1-2 oranges sliced
4 cinnamon sticks
1 can of frozen orange juice
1 can of frozen apple juice

Here's how I make mine:

First I throw a few cinnamon sticks in a pot.

Then I add a jug of red wine, a couple cans of apple and orange juice and then I slice up some fresh apples, oranges, tangarines and slow cook them on low heat for about 2 hours. Believe me it is yummilicious.

I serve the wine in a ceramic coffee/tea mug. The next day it can be served cold in a glass.

And I pull out the ingredients from the pot and use them as potpourri - it's so aromatic.

PITCHWARS

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So this is me now - Van Dancing all over the place.

I've got a mentor! And, I'm thrilled!!! If you'd like to meet the incredibly wonderful and super talented Heather Marie!  Pop over to her blog or twitter and check her out over at The Secret Life of Writers.

I am so grateful that she picked me!!! as her mentee.

I don't usually enter contests. Don't know why. I just haven't done them - maybe because of time and the fear of putting myself out there. Who knows? But, whatever the reason, I just haven't done it in the past. And, I can tell you that on 12-12-12 I knew it was going to be a special day...maybe because I was having an End of the World party with my gfriends where we celebrated the End of Days with Margaritas, Munchies and Manicures. But, I had no idea I'd be picked as a mentee!!!

I knew that the teams were going to be posted at 8:00 a.m. EST - that's 5:00 a.m. West Coast time (or what I call "my time").

So, I went to sleep--no problem--but I popped up suddenly at 3:00 a.m.

"Hum," I looked at the clock and thought "the birds don't even get up this early" so I went back to bed.

I woke back up at 6:30 and ran to check my email. Nothing. So, I was sure I wasn't selected. But then I popped over to Brenda Drake's blog to see who the lucky winners were.

And WHOO-HOO! I found my name on the list. I couldn't believe it and had to look twice to be sure it wasn't a dream.

Now, Heather Marie is going to help me get ready for the January pitches. And, after "playing" in the PitchWars, which is what I felt like I was doing because I met so many wonderful writers that I think we all won in this contest (which was put on by the wise and wonderful Brenda Drake), now we move on to the hard work (perfecting our pitches and getting our queries shined up for the next step) the agent round! The agent round begins on January 20th! I know that day is just around the corner and I want to be ready and I'm willing to work hard to get my story prepared.

If you don't know about PitchWars, here's a little blurb about the next round:

 Note: The material for the agent round will be a 3 sentence pitch and the first 250 words of your manuscript. Coaches will read manuscripts and query letters only once and give notes. It is up to the writer to use the notes from their coaches to get the manuscript and query letter in as best shape as they can to send to requesting agents. The coaches will critique the three sentence pitch and first 250 words. The coaches will read them as many times as they deem necessary. In no way will writers expect the coaches to read the manuscript and query letter more than once or the pitches more than twice.

·        January 20: Coaches will submit shined pitches to the contest email.

·        January 23 and 24: Agents will read and make requests on the pitches they like (it is likely that not all participants will get requests).

·        January 25: We'll announce the team with the most requests and who will take home the winning prizes (an amazon gift card for each).

I'm hoping you readers will be there to support me in this journey through the path toward publication! I can use all the cyber-hand holding I can get. 

Homemade Pizza

I usually make at least two pizzas when I make homemade pizza. The reason is because I love thin, crispy crust and my kids like thicker less crisp pizza. (Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is well-melted)

Here's how I make it:

Pizza Dough Ingredients:

1 package of yeast
1 and 1/2 cusp of water
3 and 1/2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of oil (olive oil)

Instructions:

Take the 1 and 1/2 cups of WARM water and pour the yeast into it and let it sit for about five minutes to let it activate.

Mix together the flour, olive oil and yeast-infused water. Mix and until well-blended. Then put your ball of dough in a metal pan (that has been greased with olive oil) and cover with saran wrap.

The dough will rise best if the room is warm. If it's not, put your covered dough near a heat vent or on top of the stove. Let it rise for an hour and then roll it out.

PIZZA INGREDIENTS:

2 cans of Tomato paste/sauce  (you can use spaghetti sauce - if you want)
2 cups of mozzarella
2 cups of cheddar cheese
1 cup of chopped olives
(optional: chicken, beef or ham)

I like cheese pizza best but you could add whatever you want. Here's how I made my pizzas.

Kate Herzog Scholarships

Willamette Writers and Barnes and Noble

Sponsor the 2013 Kate Herzog Scholarships
In 2013, high school seniors and college freshman and sophomores can enter. There are four scholarships. Financial amounts to be determined will be in the range of $100-$250.

To apply for a 2013 scholarship please forward:

1. Original, unpublished writing sample of less than 1000 words, typed, double-spaced. The sample should be titled, but should not include any information about the author. Writing published in school publications is eligible. Any topic. Fiction and poetry also accepted.

2. A cover letter with contact information that includes the title of the writing sample, and a paragraph that includes information about the student's goals as a writer.

3. Letter of recommendation from an instructor in the current academic year.
Submit all materials to the following address:

Kate Herzog Scholarship
Willamette Writers
2108 Buck St
West Linn, OR 97068

In previous years, student entries have ranged about one third fiction, one third essays, one third memoirs, and some poetry. Letters of recommendation have generally run one to two paragraphs.

Dates to Remember

Application Deadline March 27th, 2013 (post mark deadline; must be in the mail by the 27th)
Finalists Will Be Announced June 15, 2013
Scholarships Will Be Awarded August 4th, 2013

The Great Critique

Subject: The Great Critique

The Great Critique - January 19, 2013

A chance for writers to be critiqued by a professional and their peers.

Location: TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215

Time: 9:30 to noon.

Never been in a critique group? Wish you could be critiqued by someone who is ahead of you in the publishing game? Want to strengthen your work? Need a fresh set of eyes and ears on that oft-revised piece? Want to have your manuscript ready for the May conference? This is your chance. A published writer will lead each small group and critique your manuscript. You'll also hear others' work and get feedback from those writers too. Plus you'll learn from the comments by the critique leader about the work of others. Cost:

Early Bird Rate:

SCBWI members - $8.00 (That's less than the price of a Friday night movie!)

Nonmembers - $13.00 (If you bought any refreshments, your movie night would cost way more!)

After January 1, 2013: $10 and $15 for members and nonmembers respectively.

Tulle Cute Christmas Tree

I made one tabletop tree out of left over scraps of material I had used to make some tutus for the Shamrock Run. See the tutus below from our fun run.

 But there's always leftover scraps (because I'm not the best seamstress and I always buy a little bit extra in case of mistakes...which I usually make) - and I HATE to throw anything away, that comes from growing up in a family with nine kids and a Dad who worked in a plywood mill to support us all. I'm cheeeeeap.

Anyway, I have to find a way to use the leftovers. So, green tree...wah-lah!


Then a gfriend said she'd like a pink one and that got me thinking about a friend over in France who probably won't want to run out and buy a tree, stand, skirt, lights and ornaments. So, I thought why not send her a tabletop tree? Here's how I made it:

I laid out the tulle on a cutting board and then cut strips of material. 

I took a dowel and a piece of wood and painted them pink. Then I drilled (okay, actually my hubby drilled) a hole in the base and glued the dowel in place. Then I took the tulle strips and started making holes in the center of the strips.

Then I put the strip on the dowel and pulled it apart - repositioning it to form a fluffy base (this is kind of like making a bow).

Then I alternated colors (light pink - dark pink) and just keep adding volume to the tree.

You can shape the tree any way you want. Longer pieces at the bottom and shorter at the top.

You simply pull the ribbon/strips to make the tree look the way you want it to look.

I took a light-weight Christmas tree ornament (a snowflake) and put it at the top like a star. Then I still wanted to do more. So I plugged in my handy-dandy glue gun.

While it was heating up, I found some old beads and rhinestones and laid out a few.

Then I glued them on the tree.

I left one side unembellished, in case McKenzie thinks it's just too much. :D

Now I have to think of a way to mail it. Hummmmm.....