Yes, I’m still on Christmas.  Deal with it. :whip

I got a few lovely surprises for Christmas this year, too.

First was a package from our very own Darling Hollie.  Completely unexpected, & so much fun to open!

Darling Hollie sent me a treasure chest of booty that totally made my holiday.  The picture is sucky, but I shall esplain:

Hand-crocheted treats covering birthday to Christmas—an adorable cupcake with candle centerpiece … a  pumpkin pie magnet … & a Santa ornament.  Adorable!

A box of Nutcracker Sweet Christmas tea, because she apparently knows about my wee small addiction.  (Six gallons a day is not excessive!  And I can quit any time I want! :drinkup )

Very cool & spooky melting Halloween candles … a bag of Gummy Vampires (I didn’t even know they made those!) … & a pair of fabulous bat earrings (really wish you could see those better in the pic; they’re gorgeous & I love them!) … & a bottle of marshmallow-scented Zombie antibacterial gel.  Because she also knows how much I love…er, hate zombies, & that when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, we’re really going to need antibacterial gel!   And also, marshmallows are yummy.

And finally, my Darling Dwayne‘s autobiography & two The Rock t-shirts.  Ah, yes.  Now when I say I’m going to bed with The Rock, no one can doubt me!  No one! :muahaha

Then, just after New Year’s, I received another package from our won Darling Cindy.  She made me this gorgeous hand-knit scarf that I was so excited matches one of my coats!  (It’s a little hard to tell from the picture, but the coat is royal purple & the scarf has a lot of that in it.  It matches perfectly!)

Thank you so much, my Darlings!  It was such a treat to fine these wonderful surprises in my mailbox—you totally made my holidays!

I also have to share the fun presents a close friend gave me when we exchanged gifts (also after Christmas…which is great because it makes the anticipation & excitement last longer *g*):

She knows me so well, because first she gave me toys for The Kittehs.  (She also happens to pet sit for me when I have to be away, so she knows them pretty well, too. :winkwink   And they love their Auntie Shannon! :kitty )  There was also a bag of snackies, but they made pretty short work of that. LOL

And for me, she had a great stainless steel Kleen Kanteen personalized with a kitty & inscription:

Awwwwww!  I love this thing & know I’ll use it all the time because A.)  it holds both cold & hot, & B.)  it has a large enough opening at the top that it can be easily cleaned.   More like a thermos than a water bottle.  A lot of the water bottles I’ve looked at before now had such small spouts, I knew I’d never be able to get a brush in there, therefore I’d never really be able to get them clean.  This one—no problem! :thumbsup

Thank you so much, everyone, for my wonderful Christmas gifts!  I lurv, lurv, lurv them all & it was beyond sweet of you to think of me over the holidays!  And if you haven’t yet received your individual, handwritten thank-you notes, they are totally on their way!  :jumping

This is so exciting…& I owe a huge thank-you to to Carly Phillips, who alerted me to this bit of good fortune, otherwise I would have been completely clueless. :Huh

But apparently, TANGLED UP IN LOVE is highlighted in the February issue of Allure magazine as part of their what’s-hot-now “Beauty and the Beat” feature:

From the magazine:  Under the Covers…  Not everyone’s fantasy involves Fabio in shining armor.  These days, romance authors are exploring every conceivable setting for material—and you might be surprised to learn where they find it.

And my humorous contemporary novel, TANGLED UP IN LOVE (“Chicks with Sticks” – Book 1) is highlighted for its knitting-turned-sexy plotline! :jumping

Here’s the (awesome, if I do say so myself) close-up:

Thank you so much to Allure & the article’s author, Alexandra Owens for the terrific shout-out! I couldn’t be more delighted! :blowkiss

Happy Sunday!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week.  Despite the cold & snow (at least in my area, & where I’m hanging out vicariously in my current Harlequin Desire manuscript, the Pacific Northwest—yeep! :dropmouth ) there really is so much to be grateful for.  Even sometimes just the little things. :blowkiss

I AM HAPPY that I have all of you to hang out with.  And that you all hang out with me.  I love seeing so many comments pile up in response to each day’s blog post, & even seeing y’all chatting back & forth with each other.  Keep up the great work, my Darlings!  (And, um…don’t get caught if you’re doing it when you’re supposed to be doing real work. :oops )

I AM HAPPY, too, with the very sweet note I received this week from Darling Chris S., thanking me for the book I sent her recently after her Free Book Friday win.  You won it fair & square, my Darling, so there’s no reason to thank me…but I was delighted by your thoughtfulness nonetheless.  It was a lovely note on a lovely note card.  (Pitty-pat prints & a disappearing kitty tail.  How did she know I adore cats? I wonder. :winkwink )  Thank you for the nice surprise, & you’re very welcome for the book & keeping The Dungeon filled with naughty fun. :whip

I AM HAPPY that, quite by accident, I discovered the entire series of The Commish is now available on DVD!  Does everybody remember this show?  I used to love it!  Always wondered why it didn’t come back in repeats, frankly.  (Are you listening Cloo?!! :Huh )  Then they released the first couple of seasons on DVD, but stopped :curses & I have always hoped they’d come out with the rest.  Now they have.  Well, for the most part.  The packaging isn’t great, & from some of the customer reviews I’ve read, it seems they’ve done a bit of editing here & there that I probably won’t be thrilled about, but what can you do?  At this point, I’ll take what I can get.

Now if they could just manage to come out with the rest of the seasons of Diagnosis Murder. :angry

I AM HAPPY that I finally got some items packed up & ready to mail that have been sitting on my counter for at least a month now. :oops   A couple of Darlings—this means you. :winkwink   So if you’ve been waiting for &/or expecting something from me, it may actually arrive soon!

And last but not least, I AM HAPPY (very, very happy, actually :jumping ) about something I exciting I just found out about last week.  I’ll be sharing that with you tomorrow, though, so I won’t go into details right now.  I will give you a hint, though:  It has to do with the February issue of Allure magazine.  And, no, I’m not on the cover…that’s the March issue! :rolf

So what about you guys?  Even if you’re wrapped in a Snuggie, just trying to stay warm, I know there are at least a dozen blessings you’re probably thankful for, & this is the place to share them! :blowkiss

We have so many great prizes to give away this week!

#1 — A copy of Joan Swan’s upcoming debut release, Fever (paperback or e-book, winner’s choice) from her guest blog on Tuesday…

:twirl Hollie!!! :twirl

Congratulations, Hollie! :thumbsup   Please contact me with your full name & mailing information, & I will forward it to Joan so she can get your book to you.  Oh—be sure to let me know whether you’d like your copy of Fever in paperback or e-book, too!

#2 — Three fabulous 6 Packs/9 Lives 2012 calendars from FoundAnimals.org…

From WIPs and Chains

:twirl Anne!!! :twirl

From Twitter

:twirl   Raquel Vega-Grieder!!! :twirl

From the “Fans of Heidi Betts” Facebook page

:twirl Emily W!!! :twirl

Congratulations, ladies! :thumbsup   Please contact me with your full names (if necessary) & mailing information, & I’ll get your sweet & sexy calendars out to you as soon as I can!

And to everyone who entered, but didn’t win, please remember that you can still buy one of these wonderful calendars for yourself—& your friends!—at FoundAnimals.org!  They are only $7.99 (with free S&H) & 100% of that goes to help homeless kitties!

#3 — This week’s Free Book Friday title, Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume 3…

:twirl Michelle Tack!!! :twirl

Congratulations, Michelle! :thumbsup   Please contact me with your mailing information, & I’ll get your book out to you as soon as I can!