I have an insane amount of yarn, so I’m trying to use it up. I knitted a lot of gifts this past year, but I also knit this jacket for me. image , a photo by camytang on Flickr. It’s a bit big for me, but it’s super warm (it’s two types of acrylic yarn held together). It also attracts dog hair like a vacuum. I was saving it to wear to church or whenever I go out, but I realized I don’t go out that often, usually just to church on weekends and the grocery store once a week. Most of the time I’m home writing. So in order to actually enjoy the fruits of my labor, I started wearing it while I’m home rather than wearing a sweatshirt to keep me warm. I fully admit that the neighbors might scurry into their homes when they see me going out to check the mail, because I’m wearing sweatpants under my jacket. But what’s the use of going through the effort to knit it and then hardly wearing it? Here’s to offending the Fashion Police, staying warm, and stash busting.

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor. NAME ______________________________________________ DATE of BIRTH ______________ HEIGHT __________ WEIGHT ________________ IQ _____________ GPA ______________ SOCIAL SECURITY # _______________________ DRIVERS LICENSE # ________________ BOY SCOUT RANK and BADGES ___________________________________________________ ADDRESS ________________________________ CITY/STATE ____________ ZIP __________ Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No If No, please explain:_______________________________________________________________________ How long have your parents been married? ___________________________________________ If less than your age, please explain:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________...

The kids at church just got back from a youth retreat called Winter Vision, and one thing they got out of the retreat was the concept of how each of us is a teacup. The red plastic cups used for parties is disposable. Coffee mugs are a little better than those plastic cups, but they seem to breed in my cabinet like rabbits, and also they’re “common,” they’re not anything special. Teacups, on the other hand, like the fancy ones in your mom’s china cabinet which you’re not supposed to touch, are precious and protected. We are each teacups—precious and protected by God. I thought it was a great way to think of ourselves. But I want to go one step further. Yes, teacups are precious and protected, but they also should be used. If they’re just on display, they’re of no use to anyone. Instead, people are using their common coffee mugs rather than the beautiful teacups. And yes, I do think it tastes better if it’s drunk from a fancy teacup. For my birthday, my mom had shipped to me t...

Most years, I ask God to give me a word for the year to focus on, and this year it’s been Worship. It actually coincides nicely with how our pastor is focusing on Prayer this year for our congregation, so I’ve recently been reading up on prayer, and finding how it includes worship in our communication with God. I read this book, Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days by Kay Arthur , a long time ago, but started reading it again to rejuvenate my prayer life this year. I’m enjoying it a lot so far. Some of it is stuff I remember, but some is stuff I’ve forgotten, and the Lord is speaking to me through the scriptures the author has me look up and study. Did any of you have a word for this year? How are things going with that? Any suggestions for me for my word for the year, worship?

I’m going to write a romantic suspense novella and I’m still in the planning stages. For those of you who’ve read my Sonoma series, what would you like to see? Any characters you want me to write about? If I use your idea, I’ll include you in the book dedication!

Has anyone seen the new TV show on Syfy, Helix? I just watched the first 2 episodes last night on On Demand. It reminds me of Resident Evil meets Outbreak or something like that. I’m not entirely sure if I’m hooked enough to want to keep watching it, although the creepy Asian scientist is fascinating in a Hannibal Lector kind of way. What have others thought about it?

If you ever go to Hawaii, you must visit Royal Kitchen and try their char siu manapua. It is a little golden bun so delicious that it will send you into a higher plane of consciousness. Basically, it’s marinated pork baked inside a fluffy bread bun. It’s like those Chinese steamed bao buns you see in restaurants and sometimes at bakeries, but manapua is usually baked rather than steamed. You can get steamed manapua too, but I tend to like the baked ones. You can get the manapua stuffed with char siu pork or other things. I’ve also eaten it with kalua pork , which is Hawaiian-style smoked braised pulled pork. Captain Caffeine had frozen some pulled pork he made in his smoker a few months ago, so I pulled it out of the freezer to make manapuas on my own, using this recipe for the bun. I’m too lazy to knead, so I used my bread machine to make the dough. I just put all the ingredients in my bread machine, with the liquid ingredients first and then the flour and yeast on top, and pu...

If you’re fine with how you look, you can skip this post. But I’ve been battling my weight almost my entire life and this year I want to do something about it. I’ve failed so many times and I wanted to figure out what I could do so that I wouldn’t fail this year. One thing I’m doing is blogging my goals to you guys. Nothing is more motivating than a public confession that my bum is the size of Oregon. I used to be okay because my upper body wasn’t really that obviously big, but now I’ve started to squeeze out of my bras like toothpaste out of the tube, which means I can no longer delude myself. I read The One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs, and I have to say, this was a great book to make me change my mindset for weight loss and healthy living. She really delves into the different way you have to think in order to accomplish your health goals and not give up by the end of January. It really has helped me to make better eating choices and to exercise every day. I really needed a book l...

I’m over at the Love Inspired Authors blog with a poll. Be sure to go weigh in!

I know, I'm waaaaay behind the times but we recently watched the last few episodes of this past season of The Sing Off (we had taped it on TiVo). I’m so excited because my favorite team won! It was so awesome so see 98 Degrees sing! I always liked how in their music videos they didn't quite seem to take themselves seriously. My favorite song from them was "Invisible Man" which to my teenage mind was just the Most. Romantic. Song. Ever. I dreamed of some hot guy pining after me, as unlikely as that was. I mean, seriously, who is going to pick some other chump over Nick Lachey??? So in A Dangerous Stage , when George sings to Tessa (and makes Charles a bit grumpy) in chapter 7, I had him sing “Invisible Man.” Because, you know, it’s the Most. Romantic. Song. Ever. Aren’t they just adorably cheesy????? Okay, ’fess up. Did any of you also have a secret fondness for 90s boy bands????

I LOVE New Year’s Resolutions. I know lots of you hate them but I LOVE making them. I hardly ever fulfill them but it’s still fun making them because the whole year is new and filled with possibility. Last year, I was upset to get sidelined by plantar fasciitis so that I couldn’t run the Honolulu Marathon in December as I’d planned. My head and spirit weren’t in a good place for much of last year, which affected my work, and to cope, I slipped back into bad eating habits while I was under deadline for books. I gained 5-8 pounds over the year and felt like a gigantic blob sitting in my work chair. My New Year’s Resolution is to lose 30 pounds and train for the Honolulu Marathon in December 2014! I want to stop snacking while I work because I’ve gotten used to having something in my mouth as I’m typing, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. Instead, I’d like to get up from my work, have a snack at the table, and then return to my work. I actually started my resolution early and re...