PEPPERMINT HOT CHOCOLATE & SUPER SUNDAY

Before we get started, let's give a super shout out to my girl Kim of http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/, who lovingly does her weekly meme every Sunday about news, reviews, books and other great info.  

Also, this recipe comes straight to us from Lyuba of www.WillCookForSmiles.com, who says her kids love it!  By the way, be sure to visit her site for some of the MOST amazing recipes you've ever seen!  My mouth is watering already, and yours will, too!  Isn't the name of her blog super cute?

PEPPERMINT WHITE CHOCOLATE HOT COCOA

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups of whole milk (or 2%)
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1 cup of Peppermint Hershey's kisses
• Whipped cream (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small sauce pan, add the chocolate chips and kisses, on medium heat.
2. When it starts to melt, slowly add the the milk while stirring.
3. Cook (on medium), stirring slowly and constantly, until all the chocolate is melted and smooth (about 7-10 minutes).

VENDING MACHINE NEWS
I don't use vending machines, but lots of people do, however, in the near future, if you're craving a Pepsi, you may be in for a surprise.  In an attempt to be more healthy, look for Naked Juice and Hummus as a couple of your new choices, instead.

DON'T GET STUCK IN RETURN HELL

If you've picked up some goodies from Victoria’s Secret, they will issue a refund within 90 days, but if you come in after that, you'll only be able to receive merchandise credit. Still not bad, but either way, expect to pull out your driver’s license. Here’s what their return policy.  This policy allows habitual returners to be penalized if applicable.

GIVE ME BACK MY EARS PLEASE

Has anyone noticed being really into a good movie on television when all of a sudden the background music comes on  and nearly blasts your ears off?  What in the world is up with that?

GET RID OF THAT BLOAT

Everyone thinks I'm nuts because I eat raw ginger all the time.  Initially, I used it because it helped with nausea, but did you know that if you drink hot ginger tea, it can also help with that bloated tummy that's been getting on your nerves?  Add the juice from half a lemon along with 1 Tb of thinly sliced ginger to 2 cups boiling water, then cut off the heat to let it steep for about 10 minutes.  Strain, then sweeten with honey.

CELEBRATE YOUR BEAUTY

Now that it's almost that time again to pull out the resolutions, it got me to wondering.  What do you absolutely love about yourself?  Your smile, eyes, nose?  This is the perfect time to celebrate the good things about yourself!

OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS

If you live in the NC, (where it's supposed to be 75 degrees on Christmas Day) area and would enjoy seeing a Victorian Christmas, stop by the Poe House through January 10.  Visit http://museumofcapefear.ncdcr.gov for more info. 

 I'm hooked on movies and watch them every chance I can, but have you ever wondered which ones have topped the box office?  Look below for the deets.

From www.the-numbers.com/movie/

Released	Title	Domestic Box Office	International Box Office	Worldwide Box Office
1	2009	Avatar	$760,507,625	$2,023,411,357	$2,783,918,982
2	1997	Titanic	$658,672,302	$1,548,943,366	$2,207,615,668
3	2015	Jurassic World	$652,270,625	$1,013,977,407	$1,666,248,032
4	2012	The Avengers	$623,279,547	$896,200,000	$1,519,479,547
5	2015	Furious 7	$353,007,020	$1,162,986,161	$1,515,993,181
6	2015	The Avengers: Age of Ultron	$459,005,868	$945,700,000	$1,404,705,868
7	2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II	$381,011,219	$960,500,000	$1,341,511,219
8	2013	Frozen	$400,738,009	$873,496,971	$1,274,234,980
9	2013	Iron Man 3	$408,992,272	$806,400,000	$1,215,392,272
10	2015	Minions	$336,045,770	$827,489,131	$1,163,534,901
11	2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	$377,845,905	$763,562,762	$1,141,408,667
12	2011	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	$352,390,543	$771,400,000	$1,123,790,543
13	2012	Skyfall	$304,360,277	$806,166,704	$1,110,526,981
14	2014	Transformers: Age of Extinction	$245,439,076	$858,600,000	$1,104,039,076
15	2012	The Dark Knight Rises	$448,139,099	$636,300,000	$1,084,439,099
16	2010	Toy Story 3	$415,004,880	$654,813,349	$1,069,818,229
17	2006	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$423,315,812	$642,900,000	$1,066,215,812
18	2011	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	$241,063,875	$804,600,000	$1,045,663,875
19	1993	Jurassic Park	$395,708,305	$643,104,279	$1,038,812,584
20	1999	Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace

BESTSELLERS
Did you know that AFTER the Bible, the #1 bestselling novel of all time is a Tale of Two Cities?  Do you remember having to read that in school?  Also, Harry Potter novels rank up there in the millions sold, too!.

The other day, a really good friend was telling me about a situation she experienced many years ago, and because of what she went through, (she's now divorced after 23 years of marriage)  this quote came up. "I'd rather be hurt with the truth, then be happy with a lie".  Powerful words that work with every type of relationship in life...

WHAT WAS THE FIRST TYPE OF BOOK YOU READ?

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with The Godfather and spy stories by Robert Ludlum, so I read them over and over again.  Then I picked up a Barbara Cartland romance novel and was hooked on romance. Every time I could get my hands on a Harlequin romance,(remember how short the stories were?) a book by Rosemary Rogers, Patricia Maxwell, or Kathleen Woodiwiss, I was in heaven.  But my obsession didn't stop there, and before I knew it, my house was overflowing with romance books by a zillion different authors.

It wasn't until later that I gravitated towards erotic romance, so I had to own everything by Sierra Cartwright, Melissa Schroeder, Sasha White, Shayla Black, Cathryn Fox and Cherise Sinclair, to name a few...but the list of authors continued to grow and grow and grow. My erotic list was outrageous!

Eventually I toned it down and moved to books with less heat and included Catherine Anderson and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Now that I'm older, my TBR pile is quite eclectic.  Yes, it still includes romance, but the genre of that is so huge now, that it covers everything from comedy to shapeshifting, to BDSM, to westerns.  I even have a friend who loves to read about sheikhs! I've also thrown in spiritual, cookbooks, motivational, suspense and mystery to round things out.  

What about you?  Do you only read a particular type of novel, or do you mix things up a little?

DECORATED CHRISTMAS TREE BONANZA!

Every year, a close friend and I used to choose different neighborhoods in NC to check out all the really cool Christmas lights.  Unfortunately, we haven't been able to do that together for quite some time, but I still get a kick out of all those neat decorations.

When it comes to Christmas Tree Tinsel, the sky's the limit! There's no such thing as a plain old green tree the way we used to see back in the day. Some prefer tiny trees, and others enjoy

elegant tall trees, and then there's all that color!

This post is dedicated to ... Christmas Trees, Christmas Trees and more Christmas Trees.  We hope you enjoy this fun and festive treat.  Have a few things to take care of this week and may not be online as often, but will still be visiting other blogs to say hello.

SHOULD FRIENDS AND FAMILY PAY FOR YOUR SERVICES?

I'm just going to call this a mini rant, sort of on behalf of the world. Let's say that you're a professional barber making a decent living cutting hair, but your best friend stops by your house to have his hair cut for free. You're a struggling author with excellent writing and grammar skills, and your sister wants you to write a thesis for college. Or maybe you're a famous author, and a friend wants you to ghostwrite her novel. Should you be paid?  As a researcher, you earn big bucks to find out information for a law firm, yet an associate would like you to do some fact checking for a project he's working on.  There's a fine line, however, because it's always important to be kind, but when is too much, just too much?

Do you get the gist of where I'm going with this?  Do family and friends ask you to do things because you possess certain skills that are useful at any given time? Should you be compensated, or is it just expected that you're supposed to do it, in order to keep the peace?   Inquiring minds just wanna know.

JAMES PATTERSON
It never ceases to amaze me how often I come across a James Patterson novel.  He writes alone, with partners, and is even writing children's books these days.  Having sold over 300 million copies of his novels, he has more #1 bestsellers than any other author in the world!  I wish I knew how he found the energy to do all that writing.  I don't read his work as much as I used to, but he's definitely a true writing genius!

PERFUME FOR CHRISTMAS
Have you noticed that during the holidays there are literally tons and tons of perfumes and colognes in the stores?  What's up with that? Some are super expensive, and you can find some at the budget price of a dollar.  I've always wondered if someone has broken out in a rash after receiving a fragrance that caused an allergic reaction, or even worse, the scent just plain sucked.  Still, every year all those gift sets are then marked down at 50% off the day after Christmas.(lol)  I'm just saying...

WHAT MAKES YOU STOP FOLLOWING SOMEONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Since I've had Facebook, there have only been 3 people that I "unfriended", and about 4 I've "unfollowed" on Twitter.  The Twitter unfollowing came about when I realized they were hard core advertisers, and Facebook was for business reasons. For the most part, I stay with the team, even when there are differing views.  Unfortunately, there a few who may not feel the same way, and may hit the "unlike" button, quickly when there is a disagreement. (lol)   But what about you?

No matter what, there are still the same hot buttons that we all know and love.  Politics, sexual orientation, race, books we love or not, and people who just plain get on our nerves.(lol)  What's also true, is that if you put your feelings out there for the world to see, be prepared for all the love, or all the backlash that it brings with it. No matter what, there's always the "unlike, unfriend, or unfollow" buttons.

MANDATORY CHRISTMAS TV
Do you find yourself watching the same Christmas programs year after year?  I'm definitely guilty of watching Home Alone, The Grinch (animated) and Trading Places every single year!  Never mind that I have the DVDs on the shelf of these very same movies, or that I know how the story ends. Something about these three is just plain entertainment.  Do you have any favorite Christmas programs?

SAVE MONEY ON SHIPPING
If you're one of those people who can't decide until the last minute what gift you need to get for your co-worker, or best friend, December 18 is the best day for you to shop!  Order your things on line through major retailers, and you're not only GUARANTEED to get your delivery by Christmas Eve, but the shipping will be FREE!  This includes the biggies like Amazon.  Visit www.freeshippingday.com on Thursday and you're all set.

GOLD RUSH BROWNIES, TOP EARNERS & DISNEY DEALS

As mentioned in my last posting, I'm on a serious chocolate binge all month long, and once again, this is a super simple treat with just 4 ingredients for parties or family desserts.  Yep, if you guessed this is another fab recipe from Taste of Home - 5 Ingredients, you'd be right on the money!

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans (Or whichever type nut you prefer)
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

DIRECTIONS
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then in a bowl, combine crumbs, chocolate chips and pecans.  Stir in milk until well blended (The batter will be stiff, so be prepared!). Spread into a greased square baking pan.

2.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack, then cut into bars.  You're all set!

TOP PAYING JOBS FOR 2015
According to the Department of Labor, certain jobs earn hefty paychecks.  Some you may expect, but here's the top 10.

10.  - Pharmacists -                            $116,500
  9. -  Physicist -                                   117,040
  8. -  Law Professors                           122,280
  7. -  Pilots/Air Traffic Controllers     118,050 - 129,600
  6. -  Attorneys                                    131,990
  5. -  Managers(Various)                    123,000 - 136,540
  4. -  Petroleum Engineers                  149,180
  3. -  Nurse Anesthetists                     157,690
  2. -  Chief Executives                        178,400
  1. -  Doctors, Surgeons                      196,000 - 235,000

In the Spring, Parade will give a listing of annual earners for entertainers and everyday people.  More info to come...

If one of the things on your Christmas list is a trip to Disney World, make sure you get the best prices available by visiting www.MouseSavers.com.  You'll get discount codes unavailable anywhere else on rooms, packages and dining.  Checking out this site can get you savings of up to 40%!  Also, plan to get your steps in!  Visitors say they walk an average of 9 miles per day at the park!

Many may be surprised to know that there are homeless people, or victims of domestic violence right in your neighborhood.  These people don't have a place to live, survive from their cars, and wash up in gas stations, as they pound the pavement for jobs or a place to call home.  Your neighbor is being verbally or physically harmed every day and her cries remain silent.  If she has been able to escape, she's constantly looking over her shoulder, in fear.

As a book nerd, talking about novels and meeting other readers has been my passion, but I cannot never forget the plight of those less fortunate, who struggle on a daily basis to get their lives back.  This is a blog about recipes, contests, freebies, interviews and books, but it also a reminder to not forget about those less fortunate, particularly during the holidays.