A New Member of the Family

Daisy at Home, originally uploaded by Tera Lynn Childs.

Yesterday afternoon I dragged my parents out to search for a new dog. When my old dog of fifteen years passed more than two years ago I knew I wouldn't be ready for a new dog anytime soon. Then, after about a year in my apartment in Houston I started thinking about getting a dog. The only hitch? The $500 pet deposit I never seemed to have.

But now that I'm temporarily back home--and with the promise secured from my parents that they'll watch the dog while I travel--it was finally time.

I had done a little on Petfinder (very dangerous if you're a pet lover--they let you search for animals by zip code ... and there are sooo many) and found a couple of dogs that looked good. We drove out west of town to look at the first dog. After meeting her and many, many, many others in two hours at this no-kill shelter, we decided none of them were The One. They had all been skittish and nervous and more interested in anything and anyone than in us.

We had limited time left because we had a tree trimming part at 7:30 and we budgeted half an hour to check out the dogs at the OKC pound. We walked inside, made the rounds through the cages, dogs barking everywhere. Then we came upon Daisy. She was the other dog I'd found online. Supposedly a dalmation-setter mix (but who knows), about 9 months old, and housebroken (bonus!). She was adorable and sweet, so we took her to one of the "acquaintance" rooms to see if she clicked with us. She fetched and played and jumped up on the bench and we fell instantly in love.

Minutes later we were walking her out the door.



Expect more tales of Daisy in the future, because she's already proving herself to be a most wonderful and unique puppy.

Hugs and happy holidays,
TLC

Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp (out now!)
Forgive My Fins (coming June 1, 2010)
 

The Winner is...

The winner of two books from my contest last week, GUESS AGAIN by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex, as well as a signed copy of TOP TEN USES FOR AN WORN PROM DRESS is...

BEE!

Congrats, and please e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com with contact information.

Now...we’re all about pets here at the Buzz Girls blog--lots of talk about our cats, and both Tera and Steph are currently contemplating getting dogs. So when I saw this video on CNN recently, I knew I had to post the link for our readers. I mean, the Buzz Girls are also all about creativity...but a deer for a pet?


Check it out here and let us know what you think!

Tina

Tina Ferraro
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
How to Hook a Hottie
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys
www.tinaferraro.com

Making my list and checking it twice...

I can't believe it is only two weeks until Christmas! Why does it seem to come faster and faster every single year? I still have tons of gifts to buy, and I haven't wrapped a thing yet. As a child, I never realized how much work goes into making Christmas so magical. I'm constantly trying to outdo myself every year to make this time of year extra special for my boys. I found something last year that I fell in love with. It's called The Elf on the Shelf. It is a little elf that comes with a story of how the elf was sent to watch the children to make sure they are being good. Every night the elf goes back to the North Pole to report his findings to Santa. Then every morning the elf is in a different place. My boys have an absolute ball waking up every morning to see where the elf is. I actually woke up, practically in a sweat, the other night because I forgot to move him. I had to tiptoe out to the living room in the middle of the night to find him a new spot. I know that I only have a few more years before they find out "the truth" so I'm trying to cherish every second of the magic.

Isn't he adorable? I hope he tells Santa how good I've been this year. Have you been naughty or nice this year?

P.S.-Stop by Tina Ferraro and Kelly Parra's blog today to read about my favorite Christmas movie and to win a copy of my third book, Spring Breakup. http://yafresh.blogspot.com/2009/12/stephanie-hales-favorite-holiday-movie.html

xo,

Stephanie

www.stephaniehale.com

Fan Girl Alert: Deb Caletti

Just a quick post on this freezing cold Thursday to confess a fan girl moment. I'm sure you've had a few of them. And let's remember the Meg Cabot incident of mine from 2006 in Atlanta. I am one of those people who gets star-struck.

So imagine my terror/delight at meeting YA uber-goddess Deb Caletti at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association holiday party last Saturday. I have long admired Deb's work and her hard-built career. I managed to get her to sign a copy of her National Book Award finalist, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart for me -- and she was kind enough to talk a little about how she stays in touch with her readers. She was, of course, amazing and sweet in person.


So now, before you zoom to the previous post to comment on Marley's holiday giveaway -- admit something in comments --

Who are you a fan girl for? Have you had any embarrasssing run-ins with your literary hero? If you could meet any author, who would it be?



Hugs,


Heather

http://www.heatherdavisbooks.com/
The Clearing - HMH April 2010
Never Cry Werewolf - HarperTeen Sept 2009

Holiday Giveaway!

Hey everyone...

I'm back from an amazing vacation in Barbados and trying to get back into the swing of things. So much to do and only a couple of weeks left in 2009. Where did the year go?

Since I don't have much time today, I thought I'd do a little pre-holiday giveaway. I'm going to give away TWO copies of my book CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, co-authored with New York Times bestselling author, Cecil Murphey.



One copy is for you and the other is for you to give as a Christmas present to someone else. To be eligible, please leave a comment in the trail here. You may post/enter as many times as you would like. I'll pick a winner next Wednesday.

Hope everyone is well and getting into the holiday spirit! I know I am!

Hugs,
A very tanned Marley = )

Arf Arf (aka What I Want From Santa)

don we now .., originally uploaded by saikiishiki.

Lately I've been a little obsessed with two things: 1. Finishing the sequel to my June release, FORGIVE MY FINS, and 2. Getting a dog. These two things are actually intimately connected because I have promised myself that as soon as I turn in my book I'm getting a dog.

My book is almost done which means I am thisclose to getting my dog. It's been a while. My poor sweet puppy of fifteen years passed almost two and a half years ago and this period is the only time I haven't had a dog since I was eight years old. And being back in a wintry climate has reminded of one major bonus of a furry friend: they can keep you warm. (Unless, of course, your dog is like my last puppy who did not condone cuddling unless there was serious petting involved.)

Anyway, last night I went a little crazy with the dog obsession and I scoured Flickr for some fun shots of dogs in holiday kit. I made a gallery of some of my favorite holiday dogs, which I can't figure out how to post, but you can see them on the Flickr site.

Hopefully, by this post next week I'll have my brand new-to-me rescue dog. There will definitely be pictures.

How about you, are you a dog person or a cat person? Do you have more than one? And, since I'll soon have to think up name, what are their names?

Hugs and happy holidays,
Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp (out now!)
Forgive My Fins (coming June 1, 2010)

A Special Holiday Giveaway

A couple months back I attended a very funny presentation given by four children's book writers and illustrators. As part of my goodie bag, I received a brand new hardcover copy of a book called GUESS AGAIN by Marc Barnett and Adam Rex.


Aimed at preschool through 2nd grade, it's considered extremely funny, and especially when read aloud in groups. So I started thinking about the holidays and who I should pass it on to...and realized what I'd really like to do is get it in the hands of a teacher, librarian or parent who could really use it.

So I thought I'd offer it up here at the Buzz Girls blog to one of our readers who knows just what to do with it. To enter, simply write what you would do with it, like to a librarian, to a child, use in your own classroom...no names or anything. And just for fun, I'll throw in a signed copy of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, too, which you can keep!

The contest ends with the announcement of the randomly chosen winner next Monday, December 14th. Good luck!

Tina

Tina Ferraro
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
How to Hook a Hottie
The ABC's of Kissing Boys
www.tinaferraro.com

What is your favorite holiday treat?

My local library has a Cookie Walk every year. Volunteers bake cookies for the library and then town residents go buy them by the pound. The money helps pay for library programs and services through the year. Instead of your typical chocolate chip cookies, I wanted to try to make some unique treats this year. I decided on some brownies shaped like Christmas trees with candy cane trunks and cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. I also made some peanut butter cookies with pretzel antlers and M&M eyes and nose that sort of looked like Rudolph.

It got me thinking of all the different kinds of treats that come out just at the holidays. I remember my grandma making divinity in the past. I never really cared for it but it reminds me of her. Sadly, I hardly ever see it anymore. I do love peanut brittle though. My husband goes crazy for fudge. My kids are wild for candy canes and my stepbrother loves egg nog. I'm even planning my first attempt at gingerbread people in a few weeks.
What is your favorite treat this time of year?

xo,

Stephanie

http://www.stephaniehale.com/