Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 12-17-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

It's that time of year again, Santa's arrived early and he's brought hot water bottles for good little kittens.

When you live in Florida you're not allowed to complain about the weather, even on those few occasions when the temperature drops down to 32 degrees or below. So I'm not complaining, especially since the rest of the country has been dumped on with ice, snow and below freezing temperatures. But the outdoor cats my husband and I take care of, Papa and Mama (two orphaned cats a neighbor left behind) and Goldie (a feral cat who's adopted my husband and me, yet he keeps his distance) these Florida kittens have lost their mittens and they are complaining--loudly--"Burr, it's freezing out here, let us in."

I'd love to open my home and invite them to stay in our guest room, but there aren't any openings at the inn, we're full-up. My husband and I live in a small home with three indoor cats: Abby, Billee and Rudy, so we can't extend an indoor invitation. But we have turned our side porch into a Kitty Hotel. "Good Eats, Warm Beds, and Room Service."

Good Eats: a choice of two canned cat gourmet delights for breakfast, and a chicken, turkey and vegetable dry mix blend are the evening's dinner fare.

Warm Beds: my husband has constructed two kitty houses made from large storage bins, for Mama and Papa. There's a small door cut in the front and inside is a cozy blanket. Goldie, the feral cat, is afraid of anything resembling a trap, so we knew he would never go inside one of our homemade cat hotels, so instead, he curls up and sleeps inside of my husband's down jackets, that sits on top of Papa's hotel room.

Room Service: We don't turn down the sheets and put a mint on their pillows in the evening, but my husband does get up twice at night to refresh the hot water bottles he's tucked inside their makeshift hotel rooms. And of course, if someone looks like they need a little middle-of-the-night snack, my husband obliges.

Santa did stop by the Kitty Hotel, to see a photo, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cold-cat.html

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

 

 

Dear Reader Column 12-16-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

In this past Tuesday's column I wrote:

"Every year I buy them, but not until the sign says, 'Buy-one-get-one-free.' My intention is to give them all away, but as I'm putting them into my shopping cart, I know better. My husband and I will devour at least one box. Every year it's the same routine and last evening we did the deed. (I have to take the blame this time.)"

I was referring to the box of chocolate caramels and creams my husband and I devour every year, a couple weeks before Christmas. We only eat one box, but now thanks to readers like Linda, Sandi and Sharon, who emailed wanting to know the brand of our annual buy-one-get-one free chocolates, my husband and I just did the "deed" again.

"Suzanne, now that you have us all drooling and wanting our own 'buy one get one free' traditional chocolate, where are you finding this great deal?? ;)"-- Sandi

"Hi Suzanne, now, I simply must know the name of those chocolates! I love caramel and chews, and right now, at 9:18 a.m. my mouth is watering for one, or two, or..." --Sharon Ruthven

"Dear Suzanne, What? NO CHOCOLATE GIVE-AWAY?!!!! Just kidding. :-)"--Linda Esler/Principal Librarian/Bloomfield Public Library

I aim to give outstanding service to readers, I couldn't remember the brand name of the chocolates, I knew I'd recognize the box at Walgreens if I saw it, but that would've meant driving over to Walgreens, and it's cold outside--even here in Florida.

So what's a girl to do? Readers made me do it--I opened another one of the boxes of chocolates I'd wrapped to give away. And of course, now that the box is open...

Boy, those "Dark Chocolate Russell Stover Caramels and Creams" are good.

Linda had a great idea. Today I'm giving away some boxes of Russell Stover chocolates. Send an email, with your mailing address and if your name is drawn I'll pop those chocolates in the mail to you--so hopefully they'll arrive by Christmas.

Send your email to: [email protected] Put CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY on the subject line, please.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Merry, Merry,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click on the link to discover which authors are offering to visit your book club in person or via SKYPE. Be sure to enter the free book giveaways, too.

Shawn Engbrecht/AMERICA'S COVERT WARRIORS

Brooke and Keith Desserich/NOTES LEFT BEHIND

Melody Carlson/CHRISTMAS AT HARRINGTON'S

Keith Hollihan/THE FOUR STAGES OF CRUELTY

Patti Callahan Henry/THE PERFECT LOVE SONG

Steve Olsher/JOURNEY TO YOU: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BECOMING WHO YOU WERE BORN TO BE

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 12-15-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Most of my Christmas gifts this year are gifts from the heart. Things I've made myself, a book, or a gift of love-in-remembrance--thanks to the heartfelt email that Trish, a reader at the book club, shared with me.

"Hi Suzanne -

My husband and I have a tradition of honoring pets that have passed. We love our cats very much and know that our furry friends can occupy very special places in our lives. To honor the place they share with us, and to extend an extra chance to other animals in need, we like to make a contribution in honor of the pets and their beloved family.

Suzanne, I would love to send a token to a shelter of your choice to honor Frank and Maggie (your son's family pets that died in the fire). If you do not have a shelter of choice, I can make a gift to our local shelter. Either way, I would love to have the acknowledgment sent to you and your family. Before I do that, though, I want to make sure that this is done with your permission. As many have said before, you are a friend, but I also respect our distance and relationship.

In lighter news, I am happy to report that all of my local booksellers have sold out of your book Muffins and Mayhem. I managed to pick up two copies from an online retailer and cannot wait to start reading!

Thank you for always bringing such wonderful treats to my inbox,"--Trish

(Suzanne replies:)

Dear Trish,

Your email made me cry this morning. Frank and Maggie were such special cats. They both were such lovers, "Pet me, pet me," but Frank especially loved to snuggle. My daughter-in-law said Frank slept with her on the pillow. Your offer to make a donation in honor of them is such a kind and sweet gesture. I must remember your kindness and pass it on when I hear of someone's pet that has died.

Unless you have a pet, people don't realize that they become part of your family. When my cat Rudy was missing for four days and we suspected the worst, I was up nights worried and sobbing for my "boy". Thankfully we were reunited with him--and we rejoiced.

There is a cat facility in Sarasota that will not put any cats down. My husband and I have made donations to it. I can't stand to actually go into the facility, I'm afraid I'd bring home all the kitties, but my husband has been inside and indeed they lovingly care for cats.

Thank you so very much. I'm so glad you recognize that one of your missions here on earth is to remember animals and their families. Many people go through life not really understanding what they're called to do, and they miss a lot of joy. I will share your email with my son and his family.

Happy Holidays, blessing to you and your husband and thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 12-14-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Every year I buy them, but not until the sign says, "Buy-one-get-one-free." My intention is to give them all away, but as I'm putting them into my shopping cart, I know better. My husband and I will devour at least one box. Every year it's the same routine and last evening we did the deed. (I have to take the blame this time.)

It was nine o'clock, my husband and I were sitting together in bed watching one of our favorite shows, when I casually mentioned, "It's a good thing we don't have any chocolate in the house."

My husband looked my way and smiled, "We have a lot of chocolate in the house."

Innocently I replied, "We do?"

"Don't you remember those boxes of assorted chocolates you bought to give away with Christmas gift cards?"

Normally I would have continued the ruse, pretending I'd completely forgotten the six boxes of chocolates I'd purchased just four hours earlier, but why wait? We both knew what was going to happen, because same time, same place, every year, my husband and I rip into one of the buy-one-get-one-free boxes of fine chocolates that I bought to give to somebody else--caramels and chews are our favorites.

Why fight tradition, when tradition tastes so good. Come to think of it, I really should send the folks at the chocolate company a thank you card for their role in our holiday tradition, and for making it so easy to use their product. They even provide directions for how to eat their chocolates. A serving size is 2 pieces, and lucky for me those two pieces equal 2 percent of the daily fiber requirement my doctor lectured me about at my last checkup. So I absolutely must eat at least two pieces every time I open the box.

Besides fiber, what's inside each "handcrafted in small batches" morsel? Not to worry, this consumer-friendly company knows how busy we all are these days, so on the inside cover of the box, there's a handy map labeling each of the candies and their locations. No more wasting time "pinching" to see what's inside each piece like the good old days.

Aren't these new technological advances wonderful? And the chocolate box is even 100 percent recycled paperboard, so I'm eating green.

But the folks at the chocolate company did forget one thing--after the "BEST BEFORE" stamp, they forgot to put a date. So to be responsible consumers, my husband and I better finish off that box immediately, just in case those caramels, "handcrafted in small batches, using copper kettles and kitchen mixers for superior chocolate taste and quality" are about to expire.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

 

Dear Reader Column 12-13-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

"I want my old Cooties back!"

Even though the promotional copy on the front of the box assured me: "Original Build a Cootie Bug Game," I didn't expect the Cootie game to be exactly like my "original," the one I played with when I was seven years old--and it wasn't. "I want my old Cooties back!"

If you're going to conjure up warm and fuzzy nostalgic feelings with marketing copy that inspired this grandmother to buy a game for her grandsons, the product ought to deliver. But I think the Cootie Bug copywriters, whose prose took me back to my good old Cootie days, must have played Chutes and Ladders when they were kids, because the Cootie game that arrived in the mail wasn't the game I remembered at all.

"Some Cootie executive needs to actually sit on the floor and build a Cootie," I told the customer service woman when I called the Cootie company to complain. "The pieces may look similar, but I don't remember rolling the dice to see which body part I get to add to my Cootie Bug, and then having to use my dad's hammer to pound the leg or mouth into the Cootie's body. How could my two and four-year-old grandsons possibly play this game?"

The customer service woman assured me the game must be defective, "A new Cootie game will go out in the mail today." The replacement game didn't require a hammer, but it still took all of my strength to assemble a Cootie.

You have to pick your Cootie battles. So always looking for the positive in a negative situation, Cooties are the perfect addition to my exercise routine. Pushing and yanking Cootie appendages, not only am I building up my arm muscles, the best part is I can sit on the sofa and watch one of my favorite shows, too.

* Win your own Cootie game. To enter my Cootie Giveaway, simply send an email to: [email protected] Include your name and mailing address, and put Cootie on the subject line.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click on the link to discover which authors are offering to visit your book club in person or via SKYPE. Be sure to enter the free book giveaways, too.

Shawn Engbrecht/AMERICA'S COVERT WARRIORS

Brooke and Keith Desserich/NOTES LEFT BEHIND

Melody Carlson/CHRISTMAS AT HARRINGTON'S

Keith Hollihan/THE FOUR STAGES OF CRUELTY

Patti Callahan Henry/THE PERFECT LOVE SONG

Steve Olsher/JOURNEY TO YOU: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BECOMING WHO YOU WERE BORN TO BE

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

 

Dear Reader Column 12-10-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Congratulations to the recent winners: Becca-Linn Lea, is the winner of the Leaf Canopy Giveaway, and the winners of the Apron Giveaway are: Megan Charles, Jean McMaken, Diane Kitchen, Raye Boulton, Mary Garrett and Katy Ratcliff.

And today's the last day to enter the "Leftover--but this stuff would make a great stocking stuffer--Giveaway."

I'm giving away cool, left-over stuff that's been sitting on my shelf, but I just haven't gotten around to giving it away. But today's the day!

Giveaways ready to stuff in stockings: four Buzz Lightyear plates, two fiction books from my bookshelf, a pink, autographed water bottle, two pairs of pink socks, a cute set of chicken measuring spoons, a basket with an audio book and a bear, a child's apron and baking set, a buttons-and-bows apron, a lime green colander, 3 sets of recipe cards, a 2011 wall calendar, a cute sticky-note cube for teens and a Muffins and Mayhem cap--just like mine.

To enter the "Leftover Giveaway" all you need to do is send an email--be sure to include your mailing address in case you're a winner. If you have a favorite "leftover" request, go ahead and let me know, but no guarantees. It's all great stuff, so be sure to enter.

To enter the giveaway, send an email to: [email protected]

Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Warm regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

 

 

Dear Reader Column 12-09-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I didn't cut up olives and put them on my deviled eggs the other night. It's a start. A tiny start yes. An absurd start in some peoples' minds perhaps, but it's a reminder to me that if I cut out some things here and there, even little things like slicing up olives, those little things add up, and there will be more time to enjoy the holidays with my family.

It's rare that I don't serve deviled eggs with every family meal and the other night, when I'd invited my family over for one of my eat-and-run dinners, (eat and run is literal--enjoy a great meal and after you finish dessert, say good-bye and out the door you go.) I realized that by simply making the decision not to slice up olives, it was a huge step in my plan to do less cooking, cleaning and primping for the holiday, and instead spend more time with my family creating memories that will last forever.

I'm a detailed person and it's difficult for me to let go of details sometimes, because I tell myself that I've always done something that way--it's tradition. I can't break tradition, what will people think?

What did my son think when he popped a deviled egg, without a sliced olive into his mouth? "Hmm, hmm, good. These eggs are great Mom."

Maybe it's the start of a new tradition?

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Be one of the first readers to discover these great new books and enter to win free books for yourself or holiday gifts:

David Parnell with Amy Hagberg/FACING THE DRAGON: HOW A DESPERATE ACT PULLED ONE ADDICT OUT OF METHAMPHETAMINE HELL

Laura Childs/BEDEVILED EGGS

John Shors/DRAGON HOUSE

Catherine Delors/FOR THE KING

Staci Boyer/MOTIV8N' U

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 12-08-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Today's the "Leftover--but this stuff would make a great stocking stuffers--Giveaway." I'm giving away cool, left-over stuff that's been sitting on my shelf, but I just haven't gotten around to giving it away. But today's the day!

Giveaways ready to stuff in stockings: four Buzz Lightyear plates, two fiction books from my bookshelf, a pink, autographed water bottle, two pairs of pink socks, a cute set of chicken measuring spoons, a basket with an audio book and a bear, a child's apron and baking set, a buttons-and-bows apron, a lime green colander, 3 sets of recipe cards, a 2011 wall calendar, a cute sticky-note cube for teens and a Muffins and Mayhem cap--just like mine.

To enter the "Leftover Giveaway" all you need to do is send an email--be sure to include your mailing address in case you're a winner. If you have a favorite "leftover" request, go ahead and let me know, but no guarantees. It's all great stuff, so be sure to enter.

To enter the giveaway, send an email to: [email protected]

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Warm regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

Dear Reader Column 12-07-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Book club reader Joanne Azevedo doesn't have trouble keeping a gift a secret. In fact, the best gift she's ever received--after four years--she still hasn't opened it!

"Dear Suzanne, as I read about your inability to keep a gift secret, it reminded me of the best gift I ever received. My dear friend gave me a 'rainy day' present. When I visited one day, she gave me a wrapped present and said, 'This is a rainy day present. When you are having a particularly bad day, open it and remember that someone loves you.'

That was the most wonderful present! It has sat on my bureau for four years now. When I have a bad day I look at the present and say, 'Is this REALLY a bad day? Things could actually be a lot worse.' So I have yet to open the present and it sits there on my bureau, reminding me whenever I think I am at my lowest point that I am loved, and what had been a 'bad day' is actually just a bump in the road.

It doesn't matter what is actually in the box--just the fact that it is filled with love is enough to keep the 'bad days' away. Thank you for sharing your life with us and for all you do. Have a blessed day!"

Your friend in literature,
Joanne Azevedo

Thanks for writing Joanne, and for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

P.S. There's still time for me to autograph a bookplate if you're giving Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life as a holiday gift. Or if you'd like a signed bookplate for your own copy, I'm ready to send you one. Thank you so very much for sharing my book with others this holiday season. To request an autographed bookplate, go to: http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/content/special-offers

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 12-06-10

Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Good stuff happens in the bathroom.

If I'm having trouble writing, I grab my laptop and get comfy on the big, white, fluffy rug on my bathroom floor. A wedding dress, a big old claw-footed tub, flowers, and paintings on the wall are the perfect ornamentation for my historical home's bathroom, and the perfect inspiration for this writer. Three of the chapters in my book Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life were written in my bathroom, which could be one of the reasons book club reader Bernadine Baggenenstos, sent me this email:

"Suzanne, my godmother (Bernadine) is 88. She fell and broke her hip on Thanksgiving. I can't be there as I live in Louisiana, so I sent her a copy of your book. I was going to send mine, but then found I couldn't part with it. You have officially become a 'Bathroom-book' that we all relax with. It is a great honor in our house to be a bathroom book, and it gets my non-readers reading. Would you send an autographed bookplate for my godmother's book? Thank you so much for your daily columns."--Bernadine

It's a pleasure and a compliment to be your official Bathroom-book, Bernadine. The autographed bookplate, letter and bookmark are in the mail. Happy Holidays and I'll include a 'get well' note to your godmother.

If you're looking for that perfect bathroom book, or just a real good holiday gift, and you decide to give Muffins and Mayhem this year, be sure to request an autographed bookplate. I'd love to personalize your gift and make it even more special. Go to: http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/content/special-offers

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Happy Holidays,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Be one of the first readers to discover these great new books and enter to win free books for yourself or holiday gifts:

David Parnell with Amy Hagberg/FACING THE DRAGON: HOW A DESPERATE ACT PULLED ONE ADDICT OUT OF METHAMPHETAMINE HELL

Laura Childs/BEDEVILED EGGS

John Shors/DRAGON HOUSE

Catherine Delors/FOR THE KING

Staci Boyer/MOTIV8N' U

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader