Five for Friday and Pay It Forward

1. You guys, I've decided to do NaNoWriMo. I got this EPIC idea for a new story on Sunday night while I was dreaming ( I get a lot my ideas from my dreams, they are pretty vivid) and it won't go away. And I'm also way freaking excited about it.

2. I went to the library *squeals with excitement*, and found some treasure (the treasure being books in this case, just thought I'd explain before anyone starts asking for handouts). This is my first venture into the library nearest to us, which is kind of sad because it is literally down the street. The reason I don't go? Three little monsters that make taking trips just about anywhere impossible and cause much anxiety. However, the husband is home today because he was out of town from Tuesday- Thursday for work. So, he made it up to me by giving me some ME time, which is muy importante.

3. Halloween is a magical time of year filled with candy, monsters, ghouls, and children's laughter. But mostly candy. Now that I'm making up with chocolate, I am looking forward to raiding my children's stashes. My faves include: reese's peanut butter cups, milky ways, m&ms, starburst, and skittles. I've never been a fan of candy corn. I think it's because I never had any until we came to the states when I was 6, and therefore had never before celebrated Halloween. Over the years I've acquired a taste for them, but I can still do without. They're just way too sweet.
My kids, on the other hand, seem to love the stuff.

4. As mentioned, the fall season is here, and one of my favorite treats to bake is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are delicious! My mother-in-law has the best recipe, and I would like to share it with you:
-1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
Mix together and in a separate bowl combine:
-2 1/2 cups flour
-1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
2 tsps baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin spice
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups pumpkin
Combine flour ingredients with the butter ingredients. Grease cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 mins. I check mine after 10 because my oven tends to cook a little faster. Enjoy!

5. I'm sort of cheating with this fifth one, but I really didn't want to do a whole different post, so here goes. I'm sure you all have heard about the Pay It Forward Blogfest being held by Alex Cavanaugh and Matt MacNish.

I've decided to join the fun and pay it forward. Here are the three blogs I hope you'll visit:

1. Christine Rains- she's a paranormal romance writer, stay-at-home mom much like myself, that has some really fun posts. I also enjoyed her entries in the Campaign challenges thus far.

2. Melanie Stanford: Melanie posts about her journey as she tries to break into the publishing world, and I've often found myself nodding along to the plights she faces at times. She was also wonderful enough to critique my writing and gave me some great feedback.

3. Tiffany Garner: Her blog title, Victim of Writing, says it all folks.

'kay you guys, I'll be back next week. Until then, hope you find many wonderful adventures to immerse yourself in.