And the Winnah is....

"There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't and that's a wife who can't cook and will." - Robert Frost

First prize of a free PDF copy of "Kitchen Matches" is: NUMBER TWO - Anita!

GRAND PRIZE of a free PDF copy of "Kitchen Matches" & a $5 Amazon.com gift certificate is: NUMBER SEVEN - Dru!

Email me (authormariannearkins AT gmail DOT com) from the email address you'd like to receive your prizes at, and I'll get them out to you.

Funny thing was, nearly every vote said something like -- I've done things like that... so, why didn't you SEND THEM IN?? You could be reading my story right now.

Remember, though, if you didn't win, "Kitchen Matches" is on sale tomorrow from Samhain Publishing.

YAY!

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1. What is the last thing you attempted to quit? How did you do it and were you successful?

I tried to quit being a lazy slug and overeating... I failed miserably. I'm still working on it...

2. Are you a roller coaster sort of person (impulsive, takes chances, likes to live in the fast lane), or a merry-go-round sort of person (slow, steady, predictable, peaceful)? This is an excellent excuse to do a little self-analysis!

Okay... this one is tough. I am NOT impulsive, I do NOT like to take chances (much)... but... I don't think I'm predictable and peaceful either. So, maybe I'm the Tilt-o-Whirl? Or the Scrambler?

3. Have you ever worn your slippers, or pajamas, in public? If so, when and why? If not, would you ever consider leaving your house looking less than your best? What do you think of people who do so? (Be honest, we all judge on some level).

When I was in high school, all of us drama students would meet at Dennys restaurant every few weeks, at night, and share cheese fries and coffee (because that was back before there were free refills on soda -- blame Dennys for my coffee habit). We always wore pajamas. In fact, when we went to Anaheim for the thespian festival, there was a Dennys next door to our hotel, and we all went in our jammies -- except the teacher (party pooper, lol).

And, I absolutely leave the house looking less than my best. OTOH, I try not to look like too much of a slob (except once, I was gardening, and I needed something -- and I didn't want to shower and change, go get it, come back and get filthy again... so I went to Agway looking a mess). I do think that today's society has gotten a little lackadaisical in their public appearance. Pajamas aren't a joke, they're regular daywear. Ironing? Never... who cares if your clothes look like they were wadded up wet and shoved in a corner.

It's a shame that folks don't seem to care AT ALL how they look anymore.

4. If you could go back and tell your 13-year-old self one thing about the future, what would you say?

Don't be stupid and move out of state. Stay in California. Forever.

Okay, there are other things I'd say, but if you think I'm confessing all on my public blog, you're nuts. Sorry.

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In Pillar Place 2008:

We hatched two butterflies yesterday, but one of them was NOT right. He was behaving in very odd ways and eventually just flopped to the ground and stuck his behind up in the air and laid there. Guess who ended up in the freezer? Again. DD was distraught.

Today, weather permitting, we will have another butterfly funeral. Our milkweed garden is going to look like Flanders Field at this rate.

Still, we did have one healthy one and will release him today -- it rained all yesterday afternoon, so he had to stay in the box. He was NOT a happy butterfly, but he would have been less happy going out in the pouring rain.

Only four or five more to go.

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