Resolutions

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by Becky Moore

Historically, we’re not really big New Year’s resolutions kind of people, per say, in that we don’t formally declare a resolution to achieve during the year. Rather, we hope for good health and happiness, restful and fun times with my husband and son, and success enough to keep the lights and heat on.

This year, however, I’m going with the flow and declaring an end to 2012, the year of my concussion and resulting and lingering distraction and inability to concentrate … I’m resolving to finish and submit three romances and a children’s book, and seek out an agent. There, I’ve said it. I’ve engaged my quantum self, and am on the path to awesomeness. Cross your fingers!

History dot com notes that “the earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon.” That means that millions of people across time and space have resolved to make changes in their lives. Resolutions that are incredibly personal and meaningful. Resolutions that spark change, and help forge new paths.

They’re an interesting concept, these New Year’s resolutions. Last year, Time Magazine posted the top ten broken resolutions, which I found to be both humorous and a little sad. Here’s the list: lose weight and get fit; quit smoking; learn something new; eat healthier and diet; get out of debt and save money; spend more time with family; travel to new places; be less stressed; volunteer; and drink less.

What’s on your list this year? Got any goals or hopes for a great year?

Baking Soothes the Spirit

by Becky Moore 

My son may be a fourteen-year-old ninth grader, but he’s not too old (or too cool) to be giddy about November 1 finally rolling around. It’s charming, I tell you, for a kid taller than me to bound into the house counting down the days until Christmas. Because everybody knows, November 1 puts us that much closer to Thanksgiving, which in turn puts us that much closer to Christmas. Since I share his enthusiasm for the holidays, I’m happy to foster that sweet, hopeful sentiment as long as I can.

It doesn’t hurt that once autumn rolls around, we like to bake. It’s a nice change from the hot summer months that encourage us to grill outside and avoid turning on the oven. But give us crisp, cool days and I’ll give you mouthwatering baked goods. Both of my boys (the 14 year old, and the 41 year old) count spiced pumpkin bread among the best things they’ve ever eaten. I like to bake goodies while the boy’s at school so he comes home to an olfactory delight. It never fails … he walks through the door, inhales as much air as his young lungs can hold, and sighs with loud, gluttonous anticipation. “It smells like fall!”

And it does. Even if you’re not a baker, my spiced pumpkin bread is super easy to make. It’s rich and moist, and bursting with flavor!

·         3 cups granulated sugar

·         1 cup vegetable oil

·         3 large eggs

·         1 16-oz can solid pack pumpkin

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         1/2 tsp hazelnut extract

·         3 cups whole wheat flour

·         1 tsp ground cinnamon

·         1 tsp ground cloves

·         1 tsp ground nutmeg

·         1 tsp baking soda

·         1/2 tsp salt

·         1/2 tsp baking powder

·         1/4-cup brown sugar (optional, for sprinkling on top)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour your pans (I like to make 6 muffins and 2 medium-sized loaves of bread). Beat together the sugar and oil in a large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs, pumpkin and your extracts. Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt) and blend well. I typically use a large whisk and mix it all by hand. My arm’s killing me by the time it’s done, but I enjoy the process.

Scoop the mixture by 1/3-cup measurements into the six muffin cups, and then divide the remaining batter into the two loaf pans. Sprinkle plain brown sugar on the top of the batter (streusel-style). Bake until your cake tester comes out clean when you insert it into the center … about an hour and a couple extra minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely.

This freezes beautifully, and we usually keep the muffins and a loaf out, and freeze the other loaf for another day when we don’t feel like baking but want a treat. Coincidentally, pumpkin is really healthy for you. It’s a great source of fiber and calcium; it’s low-calorie; contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; and has lots of beta-carotenes and Vitamins A, C and E.  

Leave a comment and tell us what your favorite thing to bake is when the weather gets cool! One person will win a copy of Becky's book, The Great Outdoors! Don't forget to leave your email address!

Tallulah Murphy is a busy woman. As the newly appointed Director of Education for the Atlanta Art Museum, she has a thousand and one things to do on any given day. Dating is not high on that list; in fact, it’s not even on the radar.

Three hundred miles away in Charleston, South Carolina, Lieutenant Mitchell Weaver is gearing up for his promotion to be the youngest police chief in the city’s history. And unfortunately, as a prominent city official with all eyes watching his every move, a quality date seems untenable. But when good friends and good fortune set Tallulah and Mitch on a fateful adventure with Madame Evangeline’s high-end dating service, 1Night Stand, they may find a little matchmaking magic can reset their spirits of adventure and open their hearts and minds to the possibility of love.

Rugged Wear and Tear in The Great Outdoors

By Becky Moore

Give me a rugged man’s man any day of the week. Not a macho, sexist pig, mind you … but a self-assured, intelligent, humorous and capable man who can heft a kayak one handed up to his shoulder, tie a sturdy knot in his hiking boots, set the correct tire pressure in his road bike, and knows his head from a hole in the ground.

In the real world, my family is great lovers of the outdoors. Kayaking and hiking are tops on the list, as is bicycling. For Mother’s Day two years ago I got a new kayak … my OWN kayak … and we love to take them out on the lake during the spring and fall (summers can be a little too hot in the direct sunlight, and recreational use of lakes often escalates to dangerous speedboats). We hike year-round, as long as it’s dry and above 60 degrees. And when the weather permits, we like to park our cars on the weekend and bike all over town, from the library to the movie theatre, to a fun lunch out to the grocery store. It’s a great way to reduce our carbon footprint, but it’s also a great way to catch up with my husband and son and keep a finger on the pulse of life.

We’re also all big readers, though with different interests, and my taste in romance tends to stick with sexy contemporary tales and pulse-pounding suspense. So it should come as no surprise that my first 1 Night Stand story incorporates my love of the outdoors with a rugged, sexy mountainous setting in the lovely Appalachian Mountains. In The Great Outdoors, you’ll meet Tallulah Murphy, an artist and arts educator working for a museum in Atlanta, Georgia, and Mitchell Weaver, a police detective living in Charleston, South Carolina.

Both are great lovers of the outdoors, and though Tallulah has just come out of a bad relationship, she’s no simpering, spineless wallflower. No ma’am; she’s rugged in her own right, and ready for the clarity that can only be gained from the clean, fresh air … and the wear and tear of a sexy man.

Are you an outdoors gal? Do you have any common hobbies with your partner? Got a rugged, wear and tear fella at your beck and call? Maybe it’s time for The Great Outdoors …