Day 2 Does anyone really know why?

It's Day 2. So far, so good. 

Okay, the first day was busy and full and we were practically enjoying ourselves. The quiet is resounding. We looked at the freezer with satisfaction and the larder with joy. 
We're set for self-isolation. 
As a result, Day 2 was fine. We slept in, we relaxed with coffee and the news, and the paper came as expected. Self-Isolation isn't so bad.
Then came word that toilet paper was being hoarded. I'm not sure of the reason, but I can only think of one thing. 
People are mistaking it for food. 
via GIPHY
It has to be that, 'cus it's not that kind of bug, folks. 
But, just in case, my husband has started a list of supplies we will need when certain people I know give up on the racketeering prices they're asking for toilet paper. 
Me, I need nothing.
via GIPHY

Ahh! The Rules!

Please welcome my guest today, Lois Winston. I had the pleasure of working with Lois on Romance Super Bundle and now on Romance Super Bundle II: Second Chances. This gal is a fount of knowledge and I'm thrilled to have her drop by today. (btw, I'm reading one of her stories now, and am loving it!)


Take it away, Lois!

Do you remember The Rules? 

It was first publish in 1995 (the full title was The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider.) The book generated a lot of controversy because its premise was that women should be more like the women of past generations, “easy to be with but hard to get,” never pursuing men but instead letting the men pursue them. Although the book was derided as anti-feminist, it sold millions of copies.

One of those copies was purchased by a friend of mine. Mary and her husband had recently divorced, and she was on a desperate quest to find a replacement mate. On a trip to Barnes & Noble I watched as she purchased an armload of how-to-snag-a-man books. She proceeded to read them all, but The Rules became her bible.

Watching Mary’s dating exploits as a devoted “Rules Girl” gave me the idea for Hooking Mr. Right, first published under my Emma Carlyle pen name.

Can a butt-ugly alley cat named Cupid bring together two people driven apart by secrets and lies?

After writing a doctoral thesis that exposed fraud in the pop-psychology genre, thirty-two year old professor Althea Chandler has to sacrifice her professional integrity to save her family from financial disaster. She secretly becomes best-selling romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy, a self-proclaimed expert on how to catch a man, even though Thea’s a miserable failure when it comes to relationships—especially those with the opposite sex.

Burned by a failed marriage, Luke Bennett finds himself pursued by Dr. Lovejoy toting women after a gossip columnist dubs him New York’s most eligible bachelor. When he at first mistakes Thea for one of the women out to snare him, sparks fly, but the two soon find themselves battling sparks of a less hostile nature, thanks in part to an alley cat named Cupid.

Luke believes he’s finally found an honest woman. Unfortunately, Thea is anything but honest. She’s got more secrets than the CIA and a desperate gossip columnist out to expose her. Cupid definitely has his work cut out for him.

Hooking Mr. Right is also now part of the Romance Super Bundle II: Second Chances, eleven romances by eleven award-winning and bestselling authors. 

Besides me, you’ll find fabulous stories by authors Dale Mayer, Donna Marie Rogers, Stacey Joy Netzel, Amy Gamet, Edie Ramer, Pamela Fryer, Georgina Lee, Kate Kelly, Wendy Ely, and Lyndi Lamont–nearly half a million words and 2000 pages of strong heroes and daring heroines who’ll do anything for a second chance at love.

Romance Super Bundle II: Second Chances Buy Links

Amazon 

Barnes& Noble 

Kobo 

iTunes

Smashwords

ARe

Lois Wiston

Here's a little bit about Lois:

Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Visit Lois/Emma at www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Follow everyone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth.

Desserts!

I'm going to round out this healthy eating series with desserts.
Many times, I don't make desserts. I want my family to eat healthy foods and often send them back for more vegetables if they are still hungry. But some desserts are both healthy and economical and I'm not talking about fruit here.
Not being a great fruit fan, I was never one to offer it as a dessert.
But having said that, my daughter often cuts up a pear, then adds a few slices of cheese and is quite happy with that and a cup of herbal tea.
But even dark chocolate can be a nice dessert in moderation.
An important thing to note is that if you're eating a bit of chocolate for your dessert, take a small piece, put the rest away in the freezer, and eat the chocolate with a hot drink. The warmth from the drink helps to smooth out the flavour over your tongue as you savour it. You'll get maximum flavour from the small piece.
Another good dessert is rice pudding. The traditional rice pudding we ate in England has only three ingredients. Milk, rice and sugar.
Mix 4 cups of skim milk, 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup sugar in a large, deep casserole dish. Bake for one hour at 300 degrees, or until rice is tender and the top is brown.
This is economical in that you make it only when the oven is turned on. My mother used to make a roast beef dinner every Sunday and cooked the rice pudding in the oven, maximizing the heat. I have one in my oven right now, because I decided to bake bread and a casserole for my sister in law who has hurt her knee. The rice pudding is forgiving about the temperature, so don't worry if your other dish needs 350 degrees.
If you're into making muffins, throw in some shredded carrot or zuchinni for extra nutrition.
I have grown zuchinni in my front flowerbeds because it's such a decorative plant that loves full sun, and then shredded the zuchinni and frozen it in 1 cup baggies. Bring it out in January, thaw and drain it. You can add it to a muffin mix, or even a chocolate cake mix. You can do the same for apples, especially those that don't live up to your children's high standards of quality for lunch. I've always asked my children to return the food they don't eat back home, not just to see what they have eaten, but also to not waste expensive fruit or other snacks. I don't mind them giving some of their lunches away, as they have when other kids forgot theirs, or say they forgot theirs, it's just that I don't want perfectly good food to end up in the garbage, and if you've ever been to a school cafeteria, you know what I mean.
If you like fruit, and ice cream, especially bananas, consider buying the cheaper over ripe bananas, peel them and freeze them. Later on, put two or three into a food processor while still frozen, and puree them. They taste like the best ice cream ever. Top with thawed fruit for a really healthy dessert.
And remember that over ripe bananas are really just ripe ones. We've just got so used to eating green bananas, that we don't realize a good ripe one when we see it.
So you've got a few good ideas on how to save money and how to eat healthily. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a comment.