Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

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Got Chocolate Leftovers?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

The only thing I like more than leftover chocolate Easter cupcakes is Easter candy on sale! Since we always have candy snack packs for the “big kids” every Easter, I had to stock up ahead of time on treats. The bags were on sale two-for-one before the holiday, so I experimented and found some Hershey’s chocolate covered almonds.

Chocolate covered almonds and chocolate cupcakes; double-decker dessert! Yes, but of course I have pink china.
Chocolate covered almonds and chocolate cupcakes; double-decker dessert! But of course I have pink china.

Weekend before last when I was under the weather, it seemed the perfect time to taste test the new morsels. They were fabulous. Included some in the snack sacks and then shared them on the top shelf of the cupcake dessert display.

Added some of the Dove dark chocolate half eggs in the bunny bowl on the table and all the treats seemed to disappear throughout the meal.

Decided to check out the leftover Easter candy after work last night and the locusts had already hit the store; no Hershey’s chocolate covered almonds in sight. Sigh.

However, I did find some sugar-free dark chocolate covered almonds in the bulk candy section. It’s a miracle! They also have milk chocolate covered almonds too, so I must insist on testing those out.

I always travel with snacks so I must see if these new items are worthy to be added to the peanut M&M’s I always carry when I take a trip. One thing the military taught me, always pack snacks. It’s logistics!

Now all I need to do is put a reminder in my calendar to stock up on the Hershey’s chocolate covered almonds next Easter. Maybe a case. Buying in bulk is always a good idea when it comes to snacks. Got candy?

Happy Pink Chickens Easter!

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Obviously I was out of action last weekend with a cold because I didn’t hear about the pink chickens alert until I got back to the day job Monday. Seems a Portland chicken daddy drank way too much spirits and decided to dye his two pet chickens pink to make people smile. He then relocated them to a tree on the downtown waterfront for a day out on the town, deciding he would pick them up in the afternoon.

Not in my hometown! The pink chickens were spotted at dawn by an observant Rose Festival employee and the great pink chicken rodeo was on. Between social media and the chicken lovers it was an all out chicken hunt to find the perpetrators. You can cause bodily harm to people here but do not mess with our fowl or animals.

Picked up by Multnomah County Animal Services to be kept in protective custody, the chicken daddy soon came forth and proved he was a) a good daddy since the chickens were in fine health, b) used only beet juice and food coloring to color the chickens – and his dog and c) he was told not to release domestic chicken pets into the cruel city.

All’s Well That End’s Well for the chickens. However, chicken daddy might need to watch his back. Those two pink girls looked none too happy about being dyed pink. Just saying!

Happy Quirky Friday and have a great weekend!

 

Would A Carnation By Any Other Name Smell Of Spring?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

The great thing about gardening is the unexpected surprises. Went out the door on Sunday and found out my carnation had bloomed, all by it’s little own self. I’d noticed the buds, but it was in full on open to the world mode. Fabulous!

The perfect pink carnations for Spring!
The perfect pink carnations for Spring!

While I love roses, carnations are like a very dear friend. The memories they bring back start with the large all carnation lei I brought home from a trip to Hawaii, my corsage for the Senior Prom and then all the way back to spending weekends at my Grandma Cook’s home. She grew carnations in her yard and they smelled like cinnamon under the fir trees.

The scents of Spring to me range from daphne to hyacinths, but I know carnations are my favorite. From their soft and lacy petals to the variety of colors, their fragrance still sweeps across me like the smell of Clove gum or butter rum lifesavers always hidden in my Grandma’s purse. Treasures waiting to be discovered.

The bright sun, the smell of the earth blooming anew once again, all the best parts of starting the growing season and Mother Earth coming back to life. Spring gives me hope and carnations; two great presents in one. What are your favorite Spring memories and flowers?

Time For A Refreshing Otter Ice Cube?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                    (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

I’m a day late and a blog post short since I took time out to nurse a stupid sinus cold yesterday. Forgot how much energy sneezing, blowing your nose and coughing takes. You think I’d burn lots of calories but pounding down the medicinal Easter candy in the house pretty much negated that prospect.

So while I recoup during the end of Spring Break here, thought we would check in on Gidget the sea otter at the Monterey Aquarium and see how she was enjoying her days. Ice cubes are a great treat for her and then she takes a quick nap. I thought maybe she was getting brain freeze. Eat then nap. I am so like Gidget!

Have a great rest of the weekend and Happy Quirky Saturday for a change!

Is It Really Possible To Be Organized?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Finished doing my taxes Sunday so I could drop them off to my accountant. Every year I promise myself I’m getting them done in February and most years I don’t make it. They are a piece of cake with the day job, but it’s  the writing business which requires me to become OCD receipt girl.

Spec Ops Cat working hard on my desk to help me with taxes. See how concerned he is? Not!
Spec Ops Cat working hard on my desk to help me with taxes. See how concerned he is? Not!

Last week I was pondering just when my normally organized self got led astray. I’m pretty sure two major milestones are the cause. One was when I moved into my second house and the movers dumped my fabulously organized file cabinet upside down and I swear inside out. Those files never recovered.

Time two was when I went to transfer my contacts from my Palm Pilot to the Blackberry phone. Turns out the one version of the Palm Pilot software I owned was the one version Blackberry did not like and would not talk to.

I have not been organized since. Even when I migrated to the Samsung Galaxy S2 and grudgingly put in a few contacts, I kept carrying a paper list.

Then my Samsung died dead. Nada. Never to recover. The AT&T geek guy even replaced it free of charge after only three months since he couldn’t get it to work either. They thought it was me. Ha!

I’d bought the bestest niftiest backup program and all that was saved were a few photos since I still use a camera. Contacts all gone again. I’m staying with paper.

The more I try to streamline and simplify my life, the more the tech and bureaucracy gods are out to get me. I’m not paranoid if it’s true. So one more year of receipt chasing is in the books and I have grand and glorious plans to do it better next year.

Earlier! With unicorns and fairy dust! And Keebler elves……

Taxes done?

 

 

Born To Be Wild For Spring?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Spring starts today! Except on the East Coast where it’s snowing. Again. Brutal! So sorry East Coasters.

So us best, West coasters have to make up for that and our thoughts turn to water sports! Spring Break to me always means the Beach Boys, the soundtrack of my youth.  So since I couldn’t find a “Surfin USA” video I liked enough, I went with the next best thing, Steppenwolf and Diesel!

Yes, I have the actual Steppenwolf vinyl record with “Born to be Wild” on it, still. Might be my new theme song. So Happy First Day of Spring! Happy Spring Break for those who have it! Happy Quirky Friday! Get your freak on!

P.S. And check out the great guns on Diesel’s jet ski driving daddy. Yowsa!