by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Some inspirational memes for the creative in you.
“Give them a reason to care about you. Then they’ll care about what you write.” ~ Molly Jo Realy
Frankly, My Dear . . . Hawaii
Frankly, My Dear . . . Hemingway Strong
Frankly, My Dear . . . Isaac Asimov
TWEET THIS: Social Media Saturday #memes @RealMojo68 #amwriting
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Five Things Friday
Today I’m focusing on Food and Fun. Which reminds me, it’s time for y’all to head on over to Facebook and vote for what I should put on the plate next week. Just click on the photos below to get there. You can also vote on my Instagram post, or by leaving a comment here. This week’s choices are: Egg Salad, Potato Chip Casserole, or Slow Cooker Ratatouille.
The kitchen is always a haven for me, a safe place where I can keep my body busy with cooking while my mind works out this week’s budget or next week’s character crisis. It’s near nirvana, blending and creating flavors, and one of the best ways to accomplish that is by mixing spices, and I’m not just talking sugar and salt.
This is the part where I tell you this post is in no way endorsed, sponsored, or whatevered by anyone or anything else. No body paid me, suggested to me, or offered me goods in exchange for my opinion. I just thought it’d be a fun topic for today’s 5TF.
Of course, I’m a fan of the McCormick brand because, and I think you know this, they’re the home of Zatarain’s. Yes, the Zatarain’s. The I’m-writing-and-need-inspiration spice. The I’m-so-glad-they-exist rice mixes. The blacken-that-salmon-more flavor. Yes, that Zatarain’s. Who can forget the lovely care package they sent me a few years ago? Gee, it’s almost time for a new one . . . *nudge, nudge, Jazz Man!*
Zatarain’s Care Package
Foodie Peeps, I give you this week’s Five Things Friday:
Mocha Flavored Coffee Mix
Frankly, My Dear . . . Sugar and Spice
In the kitchen, you can combine spices to suit your palate. Experiment with a dash of this, a sprinkle of that.
Tonight I created a new dry rub recipe: Two parts turmeric, two parts smoked paprika, and one part ground coffee. I’m pretty much in love with it already and can’t wait to try it with different coffees, and on different foods. It smells so good I almost want to use it as a body scrub. Too much? Yah, I guess you’re right. Okay, we’ll keep it on the food.
Frankly, My Dear . . . MoJo Spice Blend: Turmeric, Smoked Paprika, Ground Coffee
Nearly every spice has culinary, aromatic, and health benefits. What are your favorites?
TWEET THIS: How do you spice up your life? @RealMojo68 @mccormickspices @Zatarains #franklymydear
With a dash of salt and a zest for life,
Happy eating!
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Gah! I’m running into the eleventh hour ~ literally ~ and I almost forgot to post. Zoiks!
Well it’s a good thing I was already working on the blog, because now I know what to tell y’all.
Frankly, My Dear . . . Thank you!
First, THANK YOU. Since the new website launch a month ago, y’all have endured a few changes, participated in some fun activities, and overall made me feel like I’m doing a good job here. And, well, Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s everything!
So I thought I’d share a few navigational tips with you today. On the right side of the page, I’m sure you’ve noticed the neat photos, video, and whatnots. Well, they’re not whatnots, they’re widgets. And they’re all there for a purpose. This week, I added a link to my daughter’s Etsy Shop, Hannah’s Lace.
inspire-create-repeat
I also added this neat design which links back to the free PDF downloads. Not sure if y’all remember, but I promised you at least one new download a month. Yes, I know the link is also in the top menu. But this was just fun. Now, Frankly, My Dear . . . is themed toward Faith, Family, Food, and Fun; so who knows what the download will be? I guess you’ll have to push that button to find out.
I wish I could take the credit for the design, but my very creative brother did this as a surprise. He’s pretty nifty, too, yah?
You can check out his website at RealyCreative.com. Tell him I sent you.
Now that we’ve covered the widgets, let’s talk surveys. I hosted and/or moderated two Facebook Events in the last month, and if you were around for either of them, I sure could use your feedback. If y’all wouldn’t mind, click here to complete my Facebook Events Participation Survey. It sure would help me know how to better tailor events in the future. The survey is anonymous, so if you choose to leave comments that require feedback, leave your name also.
Finally, we’ve come to the Like portion of our post.
You like me! You really, really like me!
And I can’t tell you how much your comments, shares, likes, follows and mentions have meant to me.
I know when I very first started this blog it had no direction, and even up until a few years months recently it seemed that way.
I found my voice. A Southern Belle in Southern California, on her way to Oz. But I’m not alone on this journey. You were there. And you. And, yes, you too, Toto.
TWEET THIS: Widgets and Surveys and Likes, Oh My! @RealMojo68 #franklymydear #OnToOz
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Hannah’s Lace
It’s official! My sweet tea of a daughter has opened her Etsy store. Folks, this has been a project in the works for quite some time and I don’t mind telling ya this momma is strutting around like a proud peacock!
Dot’s Peacock
Y’all remember when she gifted me this peacock painting? Yeah. Sorry to break a million hearts, but it’s one of a kind, and not for sale.
But a whole lotta other stuff is!
I mean, this girl has been creative since the day she was born. Who in the family can forget her little 18-month-old fingers peeling wallpaper from the nursery? Or the handcrafted centerpieces she made for her wedding reception?
Hannah’s Wedding
Yes, the creative genius I gave birth to is expanding her horizons with Hannah’s Lace. She graciously donated a collection of her handcrafted cards for my website launch, and now those cards (and more) are available!
Frankly, My Dear . . . Hannah’s Lace – Hello
Do I sound like an infomercial? Gads, sorry. I just really am pleased as punch she’s excelling with her creativity. And photography. I mean, my girl does it all, folks!
Check out her soon-to-be-available matching painted Bible and journal sets.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Hannah’s Lace – Painted Bible
I can see I’ll be spending quite a bit of money at Hannah’s Lace. Not that her creations are pricey. They’re very reasonable. There’s just too much beautiful to choose from!
Want to see for yourself? Knew you would! Just click on any of the photos in this post to be taken to her Etsy shop.
You can also follow Hannah’s Lace on Instagram for more.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Hannah’s Lace – Thank You
TWEET THIS: She’s a creative genius. #HannahsLace @RealMojo68
TWEET THIS: Frankly, My Dear. . . : Hannah’s Lace #Etsy Store is now open. @RealMojo68 #hannahslace
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
INVITATION: The Harbingers, Cycle One
Sigh.
Book Four.
I’ve been both really looking forward to this, and really dreading it.
Looking forward because my good friend and faux pa (see what I did there?) Alton Gansky wrote this one.
Dreading it because I don’t have the next Cycle yet, and because, well, my good friend Alton Gansky wrote this one. I mean, what if I give a bad review? What if, out of all four books, this is the one I like the least? Can I admit such a thing publicly?
We’ll find out . . .
Book Four, The Girl, is told from Tank’s perspective. It opens with him visiting his uncle, a sheriff in a small town area of Oregon.
“To tell the truth, I had enough ‘interesting’ stuff happen to last me a lifetime,
and I had a feeling more was coming.”
In Books One through Three, Andi has been my favorite character. It must be her love of numbers and ability to see patterns in everything. Yes, Andi’s brain attracts me. I wasn’t sure Tank could win me over.
Now, I’ve read other books Al has written. I’ve heard him speak on writing. Heck, we do the bi-weekly Firsts in Fiction Podcast together. So it’s not like I’m unaware of the man’s talent. But . . . wow. I mean, within the first two pages I was hooked. How could you not be, when an elderly man speaking with an east coast accent shows Tank and his Uncle Bart, the local sheriff, mysterious tracks in the snow?
I like that Bart expects real answers from Tank, not something dumb like others do. So Bart and Tank start to follow the tracks, definite impressions of a child’s bare feet. Mr. Weldon tells them what to look for: something to see at the fence line, and something to pay attention to at the barn.
The tracks don’t stop. They don’t shift, they don’t allow for climbing a fence or going around. They just continue as if this small person walked through the fence line. And at the barn? It’s as if the roof was raised up after the person tracked over it. The path leads right up to the eaves then on the eaves/roof, then back on the ground on the other side.
A police helo verifies that two miles down, the tracks just stop in the middle of an open field.
So who is the little tracker, and where did he or she . . . or it . . . go?
After searching the snowy field and surrounding woods, Tank wonders if he should share his perspective with Uncle Bart. Tank’s been through some stuff, y’know? But he keeps it to himself. Dispatch calls them back to town–the kid is there! A young girl, barefoot and in the middle of Main Street. She won’t let anyone get near her. Bart expresses his unease, and Tank agrees without telling him why.
The crowds gather, deputies and lookieloos alike, squeezing in on the girl until Bart orders everyone to back off. he tries to approach her, but she resists. Tank watches from a distance, wanting to help but unsure what to do.
Now, it doesn’t read like much here, because I want y’all to experience it firsthand, but there’s a tension in this scene that is nothing short of a suspense movie. The girl who can’t–or won’t–talk, Deputy Wad who tries to intervene and disregard Sheriff Bart’s orders, Tank on the sidelines, and people in the mix. It’s a recipe for a blow up, yes? Of course it is. And in a flash of drama and did-I-really-just-read-that action, the girl is here, gone, Wad is sliding on the snow, and she reappears to stare at Tank and suddenly he’s holding her.
She squeezes him with hugs he interprets as answers to his questions, and nicknames her Littlefoot. Back at the Sheriff’s station, the EMTs observe her as best they can. Normal. Normal temp. Normal blood pressure. No cuts, scrapes. Nothing to indicate abuse. One of the EMTs leaves after commenting about her baby blue eyes.
Tank looks at her. And her brown eyes.
Littlefoot holds a rolled up paper, protecting it like a scroll. She won’t let anyone take it except Tank. It’s gibberish. Pictures or letters or a combination. No one know what it means.
Without instigation, Tank receives a text from Andi. The gang is arriving tomorrow to help. He’s learned not to question how they know. He’s just happy to know they’re on the way.
And it gets weird again! They go to the break room for food, Wad brings in burgers and shakes, and Littlefoot’s eyes are now hazel. Reading Girl say what?!?!
CPS takes the girl away but the next day, there she is in the middle of Main Street, still barefoot. Tank picks her up again, her small body that’s getting smaller! His spirit and energy are being sucked from him and growls are emanating from nowhere.
The gang shows up and now Tank’s dreaming about an IT Beast, but he’s not the only one. Uncle Bart dreamed it. Brenda tattooed it and sketched it. So you know the real danger’s just about to start.
Oh, peeps. How I want to share the rest of the story with you. How I want to tell y’all how it ends. But I can’t. I just can’t. You simply have to experience this adventure for yourself.
I can tell you, Littlefoot has some strange physical attributes. Like changing eye colors and physicality. But why wouldn’t she? If she were an ordinary little girl, she wouldn’t need the Harbingers, would she?
Pick up a copy and find out what happens next.
TWEET THIS: INVITATION: Harbingers, Cycle One, Book Four @RealMojo68 @altongansky #amreading #harbingers
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
NOLA, by Molly Jo Realy
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