As those of you who received my newsletter probably know, my new Historical Romance, After the Kiss, just hit the bookshelves. I highly recommend this book, and think you should all go out and buy it.

I also mentioned something else in my newsletter – I’m going to Brazil for a week in August. My Brazilian publisher has invited me down there for a week of sightseeing and one day at the national book fair. I think that’s a pretty darn good deal. I imagine this will be the first of several posts about my travels this summer, so get ready. (This picture below is Iguazu Falls, which I’ll be visiting while I’m there.)

Previous to this, I have visited the following countries:
United States (okay, I live there, but it’s a country, so it counts)
Canada
England
Wales

I’m attempting to learn some Portuguese, since that’s the national language of Brazil, and I think a person should at least be able to say “hello”, “thank you”, and “where’s the bathroom” in the language of the country they’re visiting.

Which countries have you visited or lived in? (Current locations count.) Did you learn any of the language? Has anyone been to Brazil?

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It’s 94 degrees, 9AM, and I have to go to the grocery store. Now. Immediately. I hate the heat. I hate the grocery store. I will avoid both by whatever means necessary.

But I woke up this morning and I was out of something. Something I can’t live without. I didn’t even pause. I didn’t ask my DH to pick “it” up on the way home from work. I grabbed the keys, hopped in the car, and drove to the closest grocery store by the fastest route.

What had I run out of? What couldn’t I live without for even a hour? It wasn’t diet soda or toilet paper, so eliminate those essentials to my existence. What would send you in a rush of panic to the grocery store, in any weather, at any hour?

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For Refreshment Only Sunday (FROS) suggestions you pour yourself a glass of cold lemonade, find a chilled spritzer bottle, and pull up a chair in front of a nice, cooling fan. You’re gonna need it when you see today’s FROS!

Here he is . . .

Happy FROS, m’dears!

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Get this.

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June 23, 2008, Associated Press

“She’s a very smart girl, and she acted very resourcefully,” said Rasp. “She kept her shirt and jacket for warmth, but thought the sports bra could work as a signal.”
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I’m not sure why anyone should be astounded that lumberjacks can be attracted to you simply by waving your sports bra in the air. That seems like one of those sarcastic “You don’t say!” moments, but what do I know? Maybe those Bavarian lumberjacks have been in the woods a really, really, REALLY long time and are no longer affected by jog bras.

What’s odd about this story is that this week alone I also read another article about how to use your pantyhose to fix a broken cable in your car engine (won’t last long, but can get you to a shop), and how to use a thong as an effective tourniquet. No, really, a THONG.

I can believe the thong story. Those things look like they would cut off blood flow pretty effectively.

And then, while googling other nifty uses for underwear, I found a kit for men entitled “THE UNDERWEAR REPAIR KIT: FIX IT ON THE FLY.

Product Description
Real men don’t do laundry-they fix it! This complete underwear-repair toolbox provides all the necessary equipment for the man who changes relationships more often than he goes shopping for underwear. The kit has all the essential underwear-repair power tools needed: needle and thread, iron-on patches, 2 safety pins, an elastic waistband, duct tape, white-out, and a 32-page Instruction MAN-u-al that clearly demonstrates the ins and outs of proper maintenance and repair to turn that one pair into an ever-wear.

Er . . . white-out?

Never mind. I don’t want to know.

Have you ever used your underwear for good? Repaired a car engine? Staunched the flow of blood on a wounded passenger? Used your jog bra to flag down help? If you did, would you be surprised when a bunch of Bavarian lumberjacks came roaring up to assist you in your time of need or would you be like me and sneer, “Ha! I KNEW that would get your attention faster than a forest fire!”?

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Okay, so a friend who used to live here is coming to stay with me, along with her boyfriend. She�s going to introduce her new dude to all her friends (and she has lots of friends I don�t know). So she mentioned that she and New Dude were going to �all the Fourth of July parties.� All? Like there�s more than one?

That�s when it dawned on me. The only Fourth of July party I�ve ever been to was one done by Deb Marlowe a few years ago. Part of it comes from being raised abroad (the Thai’s don�t celebrate Fourth of July). Part of it is plain laziness (hey, I don’t like having to plan parties). Still, when we lived in New Orleans, we never missed a Mardi Gras party. Here, there�s no Mardi Gras parades, but everybody seems to party for Fourth of July. Holidays are like that�some you celebrate, some you don�t, depending on your heritage, current home, and your upbringing. That�s probably why none of us do the same ones.

Here�s some major holidays I almost never celebrate, not even with a picnic:

• Memorial Day
• Fourth of July
• Labor Day
• Veteran�s Day

Here�s some holidays I celebrated in the past that others don�t:

• Mardi Gras
• St. Patrick�s Day
• Songkran (Thai New Year, where you throw water on strangers for good luck; we kids loved that)

What about you? Are there any atypical holidays you celebrate and how? Do you celebrate Independence Day? And what do you blow up as part of your celebration?

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With the recent TV writers’ strike and the usual summer reruns, I’ve been turning to shows like America’s Funniest Videos and Most Shocking and Wild Police Chases, things I didn’t see during their first run.

What strikes me most with some of these, is what manages to get caught on tape. I mean, yes, the police chases are being recorded by police cameras or the press, but that doesn’t explain one of my favorite AFV clips – with his dad watching and somebody else filming, a boy decides to put his little white mouse up on top of its cage and let it catch some sun. Then, from out of nowhere, a hawk swoops down and grabs the mouse and vanishes. Everyone’s shocked. But my question is, why was anybody filming a mouse sunbathing?

I’m aware that teenagers film themselves doing their skateboard stunts and other things they shouldn’t be doing. But why was some stranger filming that Australian surfer among a ton of other surfers, just at the moment two great white sharks went after him? (He’s okay, by the way.)

I never see exciting things happen. On the very rare occasions that I do, I’m not carrying a video camera. I don’t even own a video phone.

Have you ever caught something unexpected or surprising on film? Do you like watching those shows? And why does anyone get into a high-speed car chase? Don’t they know by now that they never get away?

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Give a big, warm, Mt. Oly welcome to Guest Goddess Author, Susan Crandall! Susan has published six women’s fiction novels with Warner Books (now Grand Central Publishing) and has won the prestigious RITA award from Romance Writers of America. Her latest novel, PITCH BLACK, is a fantastic romantic suspense and is on the shelves right now! Do yourself a favor and grab a copy — it’s a winner!

UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF . . . A SPA PEDICURE!

Yesterday I treated myself to a spa pedicure along with my regular hair appointment. And let me tell you, I was like warm butter when they turned me out of that place. My stylist is all about pampering; I always look forward to the lovely scalp and hand massages that are her routine during my hair appointment.

As I got in my car and smiled contentedly (even in the ninety-plus degree heat), I wondered if I had the strength and coordination to start the car. Perhaps I’d just sit there and sweat off a few pounds.

On the drive home, in hideous rush hour traffic (something that normally makes me crazy), I smiled and waved at the person who cut in front of me, as opposed to some other hand gesture this could easily provoke. I hummed as I sat through the light that changed five times before it was my turn to pass through the intersection.

Then it hit me. Should I even be driving? Am I too mellow to react appropriately?

I did make it home without incident, but I think I’ve underestimated “me time.” We all get caught up in busy schedules and taking care of others before ourselves. But I wonder if our families and those around us might just benefit as much as we do from a little personal pampering?

My pedicurist mentioned that in many European countries “me time” is an essential and not a luxury; it’s even encouraged along with long “holiday” time from work, sometimes as much as a month. I’m thinking perhaps that custom should come across the “big pond.” I’m not sure about the month long vacations, but I do think we’d all be a little more pleasant to others if we were a little kinder to ourselves.

What do you do to pamper yourself? Pedicures? Massages? Chocolate? Sit alone in the park? Are these things rare occasions, or regular occurrences? And do you think I should have driven home yesterday?

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