So, today is Caribbean Day at work. Am I there? No, I’m on vacation! But I did send in some Jerk Chicken and Cooling Ranch Veggies to the party since it’s important to feed the masses. So, yes, because I enjoy sharing, I’ll share both recipes for you.

Jerking the Chicken

3 lbs chicken thighs, not frozen, leave on skin

Jerk Chicken Marinade:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground allspice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 1/3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 small scotch bonnet pepper, finely diced (or use 2 jalapenos)
• 3/4 white onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion
• 3/4 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic

Mix all ingredients together. Put in a slow cooker with chicken. Cook on low heat for 6-9 hours until it’s pull apart tender. Take out chicken, remove the bone and skin, then shred meat with 2 forks. Drain out the liquid in a strainer, reserving the lovely food bits to add into the meat.

Now unto the jerk sauce to add to the meat.

Jerk Sauce

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix together and then pour onto shredded chicken and mix thoroughly. Serve warm.

Cool Ranch Veggies

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed thoroughly

1 cup pea, steamed

1 cup cauliflower, steamed

1 cup carrots, diced and steamed

1/2 cup sour cream

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

1/4 cup low fat mayo

2 tsp dill

Make sure you’ve cooked the cauliflower, peas, and carrots. Once they’ve cooked and are fork tender, put in a large bowl. Add in the chickpeas. Then put in the mayo, sour cream, Ranch mix, and dill. Mix thoroughly. You can serve this warm or cold- either way it’s really refreshing with the warmth of the Jerking the Chicken!

Yes, just when you thought it wouldn’t happen– it’s HERE! It’s here! *grins* Special just for me on my 3rd anniversary with my male– Ride Me, Baby is available!Where may you get this fun, erotic romp? CLICK HERE.

Synopsis:

When Baby meets Harley, sparks fly and not all of them good.  The man wants her bike for Pete’s sake and has a jealous streak a mile wide.

There’s no way Baby can run a motorcycle shop on her own, not without some serious backing and the mysterious Doc seems the likely candidate.  Just what is Baby doing to earn the backing of the mystery man?

Funniest Gay Signs

This summer, ARe (All Romance ebooks) and Smart Bitches are having a summer book club for fun and enjoyment. How do you find out more? Click on the banner and find out more.

Yesterday was the true cross-quarter day for Lughnasadh. I spent the day mostly at work, then I came home and got some time in with my friends online. I also used the day to work some ritual spelling and managed to do a couple of tarot readings. What’s really nice, I was able to cook and spend some time walking with my dog outside, enjoying how lovely everything looks around here.

What more is done on Lughnasadh? It’s all about the harvest season, the time of preparation for the fall. It’s a time to enjoy the sunshine, the warmth and the bountiful harvests pf food and animals. I spent time thinking about how we forget how we get our meat besides wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. Same with the veggies and fruits. It was a time to think of the blessings of my family, also welcoming my newest family member into the fold.

One of the major things I like to make is my pork tenderloin roast. What I do is use Italian dressing for a base marinade, adding in Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and balsamic vinegar. I let it sit in a cool container in the refrigerator for about 2-4 hours, overnight if I can do it, then put it in a slow cooker to cook on low heat for about 6-8 hours. The result is scrumptious!

I bought a pedometer the other week, finally getting it to work on Sunday. So, I wear it thinking I’ll be amazed at how many steps I take every day. Here I am thinking I’m doing at least 3k a day. At the end of the first day at work, I look down at it and blink. It’s almost to 3k, but it’s not as many points as I thought it’d be worth. I was seriously disappointed to find out that I need to add more walking into my day. It’s not that I’m lazy, but honestly, with the hot weather and high humidity, I’m not one for being outside to increase my likelihood of having an asthma attack. Yet…there’s this part of me that’s wanting that 4k mark badly.

So, I’m plotting out my strategy for this weekend at work. I’ll stand more at my workstation, doing my walking in place to get more steps in. I’ll do my stretches, which my doctors are requiring of me anyway for my fibromyalgia. Those stretches count as they add up over time. Then on my breaks, I’ll walk a bit more instead of sitting and talking the entire time. That should help too. Perhaps I’ll even go for an afternoon stroll once I get home from work. There’s got to be a way!

Me and the pedometer. It’s an evil thing– and now I’m addicted to making that number go up!

As many of you may know, my male’s sister was diagnosed with breast cancer late last year. It’s been one reason we’ve been quiet and why you’ve seen me talk a lot on cancer, besides that my mom died from lung cancer. Well, his sister is going to be doing the 2 Day Walk this year in October in Atlanta. One of the things that this walk has done for her is given her a paid exercise program that helped build up her strength during her chemo treatments. Because it was completely paid for, it saved the family money and it helped researchers put together some more information in the battle against breast cancer.

Why am I telling you this? Because she’s part of a team who will be raising money for this fantastic walk. And we’re hoping to surprise her and possibly get up there to also take part in encouraging her with the walk. So, please if you can– contribute this fantastic charity. http://www.2daywalk.org/2010walker/beckyd

For all of you who’ve had family who has had breast cancer, you know what it’s like wanting a cure and knowing there’s not one out there. For those struggling, it’s a challenge some days to keep strong for the one who is suffering from this terrible sickness. But we do what we can to help find a cure each and every day. So please join me in this!

Aurora Regency kicks off Aspen Mountain Press’s anniversary week tomorrow at the AMP group loop.  Stop by to say “hi” and see what this new line has in store for the future.  While you’re there, make sure to check out how to qualify for the possibility to win one of the great prizes!

http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/AMP_ Community/

And yes, I have books at AMP, including my new upcoming release, Ride Me Baby.

Aspen Mountain Press is kicking off its anniversary with several days of chats, blogs, contests and more at a variety of places. Check out our list of dates and events planned and mark the calendars in order to win some cool prizes as well.

July 15^th: Aurora Sneak Peek at Love Romances Café from 10 AM-??? ET. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loveromancescafe) Up for grabs a prize pack that includes books, hot chocolate gift set and other good stuff. Even better, you get to meet the new Aurora Imprint line authors as well this day.

July 23^rd: kicks off our Anniversary parties with a sneak peek into the first three books to be released in our new imprint line at Aspen Mountain Press. Where-AMP Community Loop (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AMP_Community) and you can even more prizes this day as well.

July 24^th is where we celebrate our Del Fantasma line and its authors. Love Cody, the vampire bartender matchmaker? Then this day is the one for you at our AMP Facebook Fan Page (Fan Page is http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=124393464270181&view=all#!/pages/Aspen-Mountain-Press-Fan-Page/132855360081991?ref=mf)

July 25^th is where we celebrate with our Horror, thriller and mystery writers from Aspen Mountain Press. Loop announcement coming soon.

July 26^th: meet our M/M Authors and their fabulous books are at Raine Delight’s Reader Loop (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Author_Raine_Delight) from noon-8 PM ET.

July 27^th: we celebrate our Cougar Club line with its authors and read some yummy Cougar Club excerpts from the books of this line are at TRS_Blue Yahoo loop from 12 pm-8 pm ET (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/trsblue)

July 28^th: we are celebrating all our shifters, Space pirates and other paranormal/Science Fiction stories. Meet the authors and read some yummy excerpts this day at Romance Excerpts Only Yahoo Loop 8 am-8 pm ET (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romanceexcerptsonly)

July 29^th: if you like hot erotica then this day is for you. Here we celebrate our Erotica stories and their authors. Loop announcement to be coming soon.

July 30^th: love vampires or a good fantasy story? Then this day is for you where we celebrate all our vampires and fantasy stories and their authors are at LR Café from 8 am-5 pm ET (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loveromancescafe)

July 31^st: meet our new Aspen Mountain Press authors. These authors are brand new to the stable here at AMP and we would love for you to get to know them and checks out their upcoming books at AMP & are at the AMP Community Loop all day.

August 1^st: this is our HUGE party on our community yahoo loop. Come on over and party with all the AMP authors this day at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AMP_Community/

Prizes galore are to be given away and if you haven’t joined our newsletter, friended us on Facebook, twitter, My Space then please do so. Extra chances to win just by doing those items above as well as joining in on the chats, blogs and other fun stuff planned next week. So keep an eye out on our blog and community loop as we celebrate Aspen Mountain Press’s anniversary.

Seriously, I’m not kidding. I’ve got a new story coming out soon over at Aspen Mountain Press. Which is great because it’s their birthday at the end of the month. *grins* What you might ask, would the story be about? It would be a story I wrote a LONG time ago- one when I thought I could write contemporary and eschew a life of BDSM and paranormal. Little did I know that my past would come back and one of my editors would ask to see the story once more. Thus- Ride Me, Baby has a home and yes– it’s coming out in August.

Follow the noise of rejoicing! Yes, I am too. Granted I’m in edits for it and for Love Beyond Time. It took a major act of change to really get me grooving with both sets of edits now. I’m feeling better and at the same time, I’m feeling like I’m coming home at last. It’s not easy, oh gods, it’s so not easy. But at the same time, I’m at that point where I’m able to move myself forward now– see what I want to do and how to go about it. Which means one thing majorly– I’m getting into the writing habit because I’ve got to edit. LOL

The other happy thing is that by doing this, I’ve made myself happy. Really. I’m feeling so relieved and at the same time, happy to offer readers something they’ve never seen before from me. Part of me wonders what you’ll think, part of me hopes you’ll like it. Part of me wonders if this means that I can write contemporary on occasion. But happiness abounds regardless.