My House... on Fire...

So... this is not a figurative title for a blog post... my house was literally on fire! On March 31st I was having a late lunch with one of my HS friends. I checked my phone as we were finishing up and noticed that I had 3 missed calls from Hubby, no texts... just missed calls. That was quite unusual, so I immediately called him back... and he said, "Where are you?!". I explained that I was out at lunch and then he told me that he was on his way home, that he got a call at work from a neighbor saying that flames were shooting out of our roof, and that I needed to get home. He had thought that I was home that day (I'd forgotten to tell him about the lunch).

I turned to my friend and said, "I have to go. Apparently, my house is on fire!"

I live 2 minutes from the restaurant we were at and arrived to a street, blocked off by police. I spoke to the officer, explained that it was my house, and he pointed out a spot I could park and then walk over to where a fireman would meet me and explain what had happened.

This is a completely surreal experience to find oneself in. You see it on TV, the movies, read about it in books... but your house is never supposed to be the one! My neighbor from across the street (a retired fire chief) walked up to me and said that he had been outside and saw the flames, shooting out of the roof, up into the air. His wife called 911 as he kicked down our side door, went through the house in search of people, pets, and then pictures (he called it the 3 P's). The man is a saint! He pulled pictures off my walls and laid them outside until he decided it was unsafe for him to be in there. He explained that the smoke was down to his knees as he moved through the house!

The firefighters were an amazing crew... managing to contain the fire to the attic (where it had started) and used a combo of water and foam to combat it. There was minimal damage to our personal property (they were able to lay tarps across our furniture etc - before parts of the ceiling collapsed). But... our house is toast. We are looking at a complete rebuild! We found out, 4 days after the fire, that wiring in a fan that exhausted hot air out of the attic and through the roof was the cause of the fire.

Another friend of mine was able to pick up my kiddos from their 2 different schools that day... and lie to them - saying that I was at lunch and running late. When I picked them up later that day, I explained the truth... telling them that their house was un-livable was a very hard thing to do. Watching my kiddos sob at the loss of the only home they have known was heart wrenching.

My family - of 5 people and 3 dogs - moved in with my in-laws for 3 weeks, until we secured a rental house (which the insurance has signed a 6 month lease on). My in-laws are great - but live about 40 minutes from the kids' schools. We were driving great distances and waking up super early every day. It was a stressful situation. We've been in a rental house for exactly 1 week now, and life is beginning to gain it's rhythm again. The rental is about a half a mile from our home - which is good!

Now we are faced with choosing the right Re-construction Contractors for us... and start the rebuild of our home. My huge silver lining in this awful situation is a new house. It is not the way that I would ever have chosen... but I get to remodel and update our entire house... and that is kinda great!

So, I am going to do my best to focus on the positive as we move through this next adventure in our lives!

My Link in Time

So... Book Two is out. It has had a great opening weekend. I am so happy!
The book is currently available at Amazon for Kindle and B&N for Nook :D

http://www.amazon.com/Link-Time-Immortal-Ones-ebook/dp/B004TSLNMS/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
Amazon link

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/My-Link-in-Time/SL-Baum/e/2940012397959
Barnes & Noble link

eReaderNewsToday ENT Book of the Day

http://ereadernewstoday.com/book-of-the-day-a-chance-for-charity/674322/

Yesterday I was ENT's Book of The Day - it really gave book 1 a sales push.
ENT is a great website!

My Link in Time (The Immortal Ones)

Well, here is the cover... anticipating release at the end of this month...
stay tuned!

Cake Balls

So... I'm on twitter and follow @SparklingReview and that girl is ALWAYS posting something tasty looking that she's made for her ETSY store ( you really should check it out - http://etsy.me/fnmutA ). One day she mentioned cakeballs and I said "Cake is square!" I'll stick to that... but... they looked so good I had to try it.

My version is no where near as pretty as hers... but they taste pretty darn good.

Step One - Bake a cake and let it cook (I made a red velvet one)


Step Two - Crumble up the cake in a big bowl.

Step Three - Get frosting (canned or homemade).
I made a simple cream-cheese frosting
with equal parts butter and cream-cheese,
a dash of vanilla, and powdered sugar
until you like the thickness.

Step Four - Mix the frosting into the crumbled cake
until it is moist enough to form balls.


Step Five - Roll the mixture into balls.
I didn't want red stained hands so I used
the two spoon method. Took a bit longer
but works just as well.

Step Six - Freeze the Balls (for an hour or so)


Step Seven - Melt down some chocolate.
I made Chocolate covered Cakeballs
using both white and milk chocolate.

Step Eight - Take an ice cold cakeball and cover it in
the chocolate. Then sprinkle a little bit of cake
crumbles on top or use colored sugar or some
other yummy topping.


Step Nine - Into the fridge or freezer to harden the chocolate.

Step Ten - EAT THEM!!

Just tweaked and updated the Book Trailer!

New Review up @ That Bookish Girl

Check out the new review of A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) on...

That Bookish Girl's BLOG

A Chance for Charity was a beautifully crafted, well developed paranormal story. While the story falls under the young adult category, the characters themselves do not behave like naive teenagers – because they are nothing of the sort. Although Charity (who currently goes by Emily) appears to be a seventeen-year-old, in reality she is in her nineties. She, and her companions, Catherine and James, are “immortal ones”. They never age and can heal themselves, but they can be murdered.

Baum does a fantastic job with the characters, especially Charity. I found her to be extremely endearing and easy to sympathize with. For the past seventy odd years she has kept the world at a distance, after she lost her first love during the attack on Pearl Harbor. She looks to Catherine and James for companionship, but it is obvious that she is missing something.

The book begins when Charity, Catherine and James move to the small town of Telluride, Colorado. Because they do not age, they are forced to start over every few years to avoid discovery. The trio is constantly looking over their shoulders for the Lords family – a family who has made it their legacy to hunt down the immortal ones. When they arrive in Telluride, they change their names as a precaution, here Charity is known as Emily Johnston. James and Catherine pose as Charity’s Aunt and Uncle, since they appear older then Charity.

Like the character of Charity, I was also impressed with James and Catherine. As the book progresses both characters are fleshed out and we are given their back stories. I don’t want to give too much about the characters away, but the way they met was very creative. Both Catherine and James care immensely for Charity and act in the parental roles, even though in reality she is over ninety years old.
Soon after the makeshift family arrives in Telluride, Charity meets Link. She instantly feels comfortable with him and cannot seem to stay away. She knows that by allowing a relationship (of any kind) to progress she is putting her family in danger, but she cannot get him off her mind. She feels that she knows him from somewhere and Link feels the same pull towards her.

The only problem I had with this book can be found with Charity and Link’s relationship. Let me start by saying that I loved the two of them together. Link brings out another side to Charity; a side that she has kept hidden away for decades. He too has kept his distance from others and they sort of heal each others wounds. That being said, I thought their relationship progressed way too fast. They go from acquaintances to friends at a reasonable pace, but there descent from friends to soul mates was like lightning. I could kind of see it from Charity’s perspective; I mean she has been waiting to fall in love for a while. But Link is only twenty-two. How many twenty-two year old guys are ready to make a declaration of love after something like two months? Please don’t miss understand me, I was thrilled with their relationship, I just wish they would have slowed down at bit.

On another note, the plot line and writing were phenomenal. You get to meet a few different supernatural creatures as the book progresses – some vampires, witches and even a few shifters. However, I really appreciated that the supernatural elements were not over done. This was obviously a book about supernaturals, but that was not front and center. Often times with these sort of books, the characters themselves suffer because the author was so focused on their supernatural qualities and traits. All of the characters in A Chance for Charity were beautifully developed and the plot lines were well thought out.

There is also plenty of excitement packed within the pages; things really start to heat up when the Lord brothers come to town. Catherine, James and Charity have to decide whether to runaway once again or to stay and put up a fight. Like I said before, although they are immortal, they can be killed. They are terrified of losing one another, because they are all they have. I cannot imagine how lonely it would be, living on forever as you watch those around you die. The three of them keep each other sane; I don’t think they could stand it if they lost one another.

On a final note, the setting is also to-die-for. The images of the quaint ski town of Telluride that Baum paints are gorgeous. I could easily picture every different setting; Catherine’s store, Charity’s mansion, the ski slopes – every lovely detail was described. Yet, the writing never seemed to drag. The pacing was always just right. While we get a lot of information about each character, it comes in short segments so it is never overwhelming. There is nothing I hate more than when a writer goes off on a side note for pages and pages and pages. Thankfully, this is avoided and everything flows smoothly.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Chance for Charity and look forward to reading the sequel, which is going to be published sometime this year. Besides the minor problem with the pace of Charity and Link’s romance, the book was flawless. I connected with all of the characters, loved the storyline and cannot wait to see what happens to Charity and the gang next.


**Thanks to Sarah doing the Review!