GOLD MEDAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BETTER THAN BLUE RIBBONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my Goodness! My heart is nearly pounding out of my chest. (Fanning my face rapidly! No swooning when the news is this good, Zula! Getting a grip. Back to earth!) 

I have an announcement! 

Can you imagine anything more exciting than discovering a murder? And then the murderer? Right in our neighborhood? How about taking one "for the team?" Let's not forget my major injury! 

Well!!!! The book containing OUR STORY hit #1 in TWO that is TWO, not a typo. TWO CATEGORIES! 

Don't go look. We aren't there any more. But for shining, GLORIOUS hours in time we were the number #1! ONE!!!!! Doesn't get better than that!!! NUMBER #1 in TWO categories of Amazon Kindle book sales. (I am most offended the author who discovered this did NOT take a picture!) 

I told buyers (okay, it was a free download, but still, they had to invest!!!) that I'd give them a free Zula-extrodinaire recipe for their trouble. 

I'm going to make it spectacular. It's going to be a creation. And that takes time, and tweaking. It will have to be GOLD medal, BLUE ribbon and #1 in TWO categories good. 

In the meantime. A little teaser... a life hint that can make three ho-hum good-enough ingredients SHINE like a golden hued mirage on the dessert table. Take this token idea and own it. You deserve the treat. The GOLDEN MEDAL preview if you will. Ready? 

Grab some ice cream. Any flavor. Place it on the counter for about 10-15 minutes. Now. If your house is as cool as a crypt you might need a bit longer. If you are in the humid, hot-as-hades region of the southerly states, a little less. You want the ice cream to soften. Not melt, soften. Take chocolate-chip or sugar cookies. Those dreadful store brand in the package if you'd like. Even the ones at the Dollar Store, those crunchy, blah, semi-cardboard sugar-bombs of meh. While your ice cream is softening scrounge around for sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, crushed candy bars, toasted coconut whatever you think would be a nice touch with the flavors you've chosen. Sugar cookies with orange sherbet and toasted coconut. Chocolate chip cookies with strawberry ice cream and sprinkles or mini chocolate chips. Chocolate chip with chocolate chip cookie dough rolled in mini chocolate chips. Oh my! The sea of possibilities. Chocolate chip cookies filled with oreo cookie ice cream and rolled in crushed cookie crumbs. Cookie Delight! 

Plop a scoop of ice cream onto a cookie backside. Cover with another cookie backside and squeeze just a little til ice cream comes to the edge. If too much mooshes out use your finger to remove it so you don't end up with a hump. Don't serve friends cookies with humps (you can save those for yourself!) Roll the edge with the ice cream peeking out into whatever bits you found. Place back into the freezer for a half hour or longer to let it firm back up. Then redip/reroll your cookie ice cream sandwich again, pressing a little to pick up any more goodness or to cover any bald spots! Place back into the freezer until you are ready to eat them!!!! Fake Gourmet deliciousness. 

Now if you want to truly make this GOLD MEDAL worthy make your own cookies and ice cream. That'll wow them. 

Stay tuned for "the" recipe. The queen mother of deliciousness.  And thanks for making our story #1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Official List:Drum Roll, Please!!!!

We have winners.  You are all winners. Yes. You, lovely reader, are a winner. 

I wanted to pick our favorites for each category. But...Fern put her foot down. She said I couldn't make up my mind and was being a "crazy woman." I don't see anything wrong with having a 5 category voting system. Or special notes that keep someone in the running for that "IT"element even if they didn't cut it on the technical. 

But she did point out that it would take until June of next year to do the voting the way I set out to do it and that wouldn't be fair to you all. So I agreed. 

Zula's Choice went to Pam Graber! A Hobby Lobby gift card is coming to you!!! Use it to beautify the world, Grasshopper! I know you can. I saw your picture. With the bee...squeee!!!!!! (I have to say Pam's picture was one of my favorites! So I am thrilled. But then the others...sweet mercy. The others! ) 

Fern's Choice goes to Beverly Snyder! Yay, Beverly. She's the one that had the baby as a prop. Well, prop might not be the best word. She made the lovely bouquets for the baby after all. So the point was the baby outfit for the wedding...but...the baby made a lovely display piece. Beverly wins a Trader Joe's gift card. Yay! Beverly! 

And then finally. Our Wild Card/Wild Hair award goes to Nora St. Laurent. She will win an Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of Out of the Frying Pan. Yay, Nora! She also tweeted about our contest like a champion. So thank you for that, Nora. And since you are the friend of books it's great you landed a prize in the random drawing. 

The rest of you, I'm so sorry. If it was up to me I'd have chosen every single one of you. Every. Single. One. But as Fern said, that kind of defeats the purpose of a contest...and more importantly, it would completely wipe out my clearance flower fund nest egg buying all those gift cards. 

Thank you for playing!!!! 

Best TIME of the YEAR! (After Christmas. And Easter. And Well...It's a Great Time of the Year!!!!!

The contest. I want to talk about the contest and how excited I am about the entries. We got one that included a real live bee! Not the cute little chenille ones covered in black and yellow glitter at the five-and-dime but a flying buzzy bee. So precious. Fern says we have so many entries we are going to have to do random choices. Don't tell her I agree but it would be hard to pick just one for each category as the winner. So many beautiful bouquets!!!! 

But I also want to talk about the 4th! Of JULY!!! One of my favorite holidays. I love cozying up to a strong hunk-a-lunk of a man and squealing at the fireworks. Well, I don't really care for the fellas that squeal, I prefer to be the squealer! Oh, fireworks!  Exploding lights and booms and colors! They get better every year. Have you seen the ones that make huge floating hearts? Squeeeee! 

The other best thing about the 4th is the fair we attend. Well, it's not really a fair. More of a friendly contest between talented adults. Some more talented than others, of course, who shall all remain nameless for various and obvious reasons. I enter (and win) the creative pie contest. Almost every single year. Last year was a fluke and I'll swear as I have been that Miriam somehow cheated. But I have been warned by Fern not to mention that allegation again. Ever. So I didn't just say that. 

The best thing, the thing that will take away all my sad feelings about Miriam and her cheating pie is that this year will be my first in the Doggie-Dress-Up event! I am going to sparkle and glitter the stuffing right out of my little Fifi princess. I intend to make her a corset and a train as well as tiny little paw covers. All in red, white and blue and all dazzling!!!!!! I've been working on the designs for a week and as soon as this contest is over I'll be sewing, glueing and bedazzling like nobody's business. 

Now. Join the contest in the last few days so I can move on. Feel free to include little furry friends in the bouquet pictures. Those are my favorite!!! 

Times a Ticking'

I'm so MAD at Fern. I had a shopping cart loaded down at the dollar store. And by golly, my darn bladder, I had to find the lady's room. Coffee, excitement, GRAVITY! Sweet mercy, the trifecta of annoyance!  The thing has always been the size of a Lima bean and now it's the size of a kidney bean as far as capacity goes. 

Anyhoo. When I came back Fern had "organized" the cart. I say EDITED!!!! As in I know I had a dozen each of each color of silk zinnia. And the tiny precious rosebuds with the little fake raindrop, at least two dozen of the white ones. She claims I'm over-exaggerating. 

Ohhhkayyy. I know how she rolls! And this is not our first rodeo. 


I managed to grab a few bundles extra as we headed toward the line. Next time I take her flower shopping I'll wear a depends. That's a promise! And a threat!


Now. Next week is the end of the contest. 
We have three great prizes. 

Hobby Lobby $20, 

Trader Joe's $20, 

Amazon $10 plus a copy of our story in paperback!!!! 

Three prizes. So far we have the following bouquets representing  YOUR creativity. 

Let's AMP this party UP!

RULES: Through June 15th at 11:59 p.m. 


Take a picture of a bouquet. 

Post it on Facebook with the following: (Just copy and paste into the Say something about)

Just entered this beauty for a fabulous giveaway. @KellyKlepfer and @FernandZula See rules here. http://fernandzula.blogspot.com/2017/06/times-ticking.html


OR/AND

Post your picture on Twitter with the following: 

Just entered for a fabulous #giveaway. @KellyKlepfer @MichelleGriep #FernandZula See rules here. http://fernandzula.blogspot.com/2017/06/times-ticking.html


And then, just to make sure we don't miss the entry email the writer at kelly.klepfer@gmail.com and tell her what you did! Easy peasy. Enter as often as you like. Go crazy with bouquets. You do not have to make them, just take a picture of one. 

Or, just go buy 10 copies of our story on Amazon and we'll gladly enter you for that. Send your receipt to the email addy above. Just kidding. But if you wanted to we sure wouldn't be upset...just sayin. 

Oh Glorious DAY!

You know what today is? Don't you? If you know me at all you know that this might be the best day of the year. 

Two days after Christmas is a close second. The day after Valentine's is up there. But the day after Memorial Day!!!! I adore this day!!! 

Now I don't have much time. Nor do I have the ability to sit still and type this. Gracious, my feet are tap-tapping right along with my fingers. I'm giddy. Just giddy!!!

I am taking Fern with me. She insisted. I'm not sure why she is so interested in flower gathering but I'll take her help. I might find enough that I can't even carry it! She can be my blossom mule! 

 (Fern here: You know why I'm helping her? Someone has to be the voice of reason. Last year she "borrowed" half of my closet for a "few weeks." Yeah. That's not going to happen again. For months, every time I opened my closet door I was terrified of losing an eye.)

I've got to tell you this, too. I don't know for certain. But I think there might be a wedding on the horizon. I just feel it in my bones. There is an unverified wedding and I will be intimately involved in the planning. Today my goal is to dumpster dive, buy at 75% off or more every white or ivory flower I see. 

I hope your day is full of flowers. Just FULL of them. Join the contest. Send a picture. Here's the information you need. http://fernandzula.blogspot.com/2017/05/announcement-announcement-announcement.html 

TIP: You need this. If you see a bedraggled flower that you feel like you must rescue but just can't see how. You can reinvigorate a faded beauty past her prime. Spray glue and glitter. Or glitter spray. Not even kidding. Silks can become dazzling damsels with just a little TLC! 

Fern's up and moving around. We'll be ready to hit the Dollarama and Hobbyville in no time at all. (This is the one day a year I'm thankful Fern has no beauty routine!) 

This Just In...

Before I reveal whether or not Fern wore the tasteful hat I made for her...before I reveal another annoying thing about that woman! Before I share the weather catastrophe that ruined my outfit...before I share Fern's recipe I want to share this. Our story of murder and mayhem is on sale. Well better than that. It's on sale for free if you have one of those reader devices. Click here to go there. 

That is correct. For two days. It's free. No excuses not to read about how Fern and I helped to save all of Paradise. It's really a big deal. Bad stuff was going down. And with our help Detective Flynn saved the day (and a damsel, but I'm not supposed to talk about the "relationship" anymore, but between you and me, I'm expecting wedding bells. Fern's going to kill me, again.) I'll tell you, though, keeping Paradise safe is worth all the scars I received while nearly laying down my life for my neighbors. 

And. Fern did NOT wear the hat. Did NOT. But even if she had it would have probably not been on for long. 

Go get your free book. (there are others, too. Here's a list.) 
Murder of a Manuscript                                                                                              

Shock the Clock                                                                                                          

Common Mistakes Writers Make: Editing and Proofreading                                                

Firsts In Fiction: First Line Hooks, Hints & Help                                                      

Crashing Into Love - Where Personal Tragedies, Faith, & Love Collide                   

The Chamomile                                                                                                           

Out of the Frying Pan   (By the way, this does have 4.3 stars out of 5...so not only is it our story, but it's a good story...Just sayin.)                                                                                               

Searching for Sanity - Help for Moms from Moms of the Bible                                

Racin' Flat Out for Christ - Daily Devotions for NASCAR Fans                              

Why You Do What You Do - Your Personality is the Key  

And come back next week where I will share all the promised details in the first paragraph. Now. I have some serious cleanup to do! 

Free Book and Minestroneyumm Soup

This just in! A copy of our story is being given away! Go here http://bit.ly/2nBaveJ ! 

Now here we go! To the other good stuff! I'm the best at scratch cooking. Not tooting my own horn, I'm just stating the facts. One day I might have to share testimonials to this fact. I have a notebook full of statements, comments and a blue ribbon from every state fair I've ever entered! 

But being a good cook means choosing your battles. I have to decide if I want to spend my time and energy on creativity or chopping things. Now. I love the feeling of chopping. It's a very satisfying stress reliever (especially with Fern around...I do so much chopping therapy) and the released scents can be just heavenly. But I will use a food processor like nobody's business if one will be a useful tool and free me up to be creative! 

That said I am not opposed to dump and go type meals. Soups are one of these. 


Today I share my minestrone style soup. Using fresh, frozen or canned ingredients you can make a restaurant quality soup. Delicious!

To cut down on sodium use home prepped dry beans, a homemade pesto and frozen or fresh veggies.

1 can of kidney beans (approx 15 ounce) (dump the juices down the sink, rinse and drain) 
1 can of white or great northern beans (approx 15 ounce) (dump the juice down the sink, rinse and drain) (use your own home canned beans 1 and 3/4 cups if you like) 
2 cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano (approx 15 ounce each) (you could substitute chunky spaghetti sauce here.) (Or chopped fresh or canned tomatoes and add dried Italian spice (about a TBSP) and 2 - 3 cloves minced garlic)
Veggie broth (or chicken) (approx 4-5 cups) 
1 Cup of pesto sauce (you can use one that you've created, your favorite recipe, or store bought) 
1 Can of chopped spinach or 1 1/2 cups chopped frozen or fresh. 
1 Can (13-16 ounce) vegetable of choice. I used asparagus for kicks. I think I will use artichoke hearts in the future or green beans.
1 Cup pasta of choice. 
A Handful of quinoa Rinse it first if it's not prewashed. The package will say so.  

Put everything but the pasta in a crock or soup pot and stir well. Simmer for 4-6 hours. Add the dry pasta an hour before serving. Stir well and continue simmering.  

Money, Money, Money....Moooonnnnneeeyyyyyy!

Amazon. Money. Author giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be still my heart. Get a going, people. Times a ticking!