Another Saturday Night

Well it's Saturday (finally) and I have managed to spend another week doing nothing but working, sleeping and losing money at Fantasy Basketball. My life is in a terrible loop. It's like crappiest Groundhog day ever. Someone actually made a comment that last week was the longest string of Tuesdays ever. I couldn't help feeling a little like Sam.



Every Day I Watch You Die



But now it is finally Saturday (or Wednesday if you prefer) and it is time to clean the house, bake a cake and get ready for a night of hilarity with our friends. It is our semi-regular poker party tonight and all of the usual suspects had BETTER show up.

With two kids hanging around the house it is hard for me and Mr. Rebel to get out much. So the only real social interaction I get is when I make food and beg our friends to come over and gamble at our house. We provide food and they keep me from going absolutely stir crazy. It's pretty much a win-win for everyone.

So once again there will be no writing tonight, but with any luck one of our friends will spawn a new book idea like they did last time we had them all over. And even if they don't, it will be nice to get some laughs. It was a hell of a week.

XoXoXo
Dakota

Better Than Anything Cake

For my first foodie post I am going to share the most outrageous, delicious, amazing cake you will ever put in your mouth.

It is called Better Than Anything Cake because it is...well, better than pretty much anything.

Step 1 - Bake a yellow cake

Step 2 - Cool for a few minutes then poke holes all over the cake. (I use an apple corer so it actually pulls the cake out and makes deep holes for the filling. But poking it should work fine.)

Step 3 - Pour Sweetened Condensed Milk all over the cake, making sure to let it pool in all of those holes.

Step 4 - When it has all be absorbed into the cake, pour caramel topping all over the cake, again letting it pool into those holes.

Step 5 - Cover the cake and put it in the fridge for at least two hours.

Step 6 - When your two hours are up, or when you just can't stand it anymore, frost the whole thing with Cool Whip.

Step 7 - If you have any sort of will power, but the cake back in the fridge. But if you're like me:

Dig in to that gooey, sweet, delicious cake with a fork.

I have had to stop making this cake for a while because I can't help but eat it until the pan is empty. And my waistline has been paying the price. So while I go back to my disciplined eating schedule, this cake is on hold. But I will be making it again because I just can't stay away for too long.

Ingredient List:

Baked Yellow Cake in a 9 x 13 pan
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Jar Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 Tub Cool Whip. (I honestly use the Lite. Not for any calorie saving reasons really, since this cake is a total fat bomb anyway. But I prefer the taste of the Lite.)

Seriously, it doesn't get any easier than that does it?

XoXoXo
Dakota

New Year, new goals

Obviously, I'm not a very good blogger. I pretty much ignore this place unless something awesome or tragic happens. But this year, as with every other year, I want be different. I want to connect with people. I want to share stories and recipes and get to know my readers better. I got the idea today, since my blog is called Taste the Rainbow anyway, I would start sharing more than just writing news here. I could just make this my home on the interwebs. We can all just chat and share and hang out here. We can be ourselves, talk about my books and my career and my life in general. Then you can tell me about your lives and your careers and your families. It could be great. Or it could all fall apart like it does every year. But at least I always start out with good intentions. Here's hoping 2013 is better, all around, than 2012 was. XoXoXo D

You like me! You really like me!

The Pit Boss is the best selling M/M book at AllRomanceeBooks.com right now! Thank you so much to everyone who went out and legally purchased a copy. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you.

If you haven't bought a copy yet I encourage you to do so. It's actually one of my favorite stories that I've written. I fell so in love with these boys. Much more than I thought I would at the beginning. It's a sweet, sexy story that I'm sure my fans will really enjoy. Honest. I'm not just saying that.

Click the link to buy your very own copy now. I would love to see it in the overall best seller list. It would just make my whole year.

Love you all!
D

Let's Bitch About Doctors

So if you follow me on Twitter @dakotarebel you know that I have been going through hell with a headache that will not quit. Today is day 15 of the constant pain. It gets worse when I lay down so I haven't really slept in over two weeks. My world is getting fuzzier and harder to understand every day.

I have been seen by my primary care doctor, another doctor in her office, I have been to urgent care and I have been to the emergency room. I have received way too many drugs from all of these people, none of which has done a thing to help my headache.

The bitch of it all is that I'm the only one who seems to care that I'm in pain. I tried to make an appointment again with the office and was told that it would be June 19th before I could be seen again. So I sat on hold for an hour to talk to a nurse to try to get an emergency appointment, then finally had to just leave a message.

They called back today and the woman was very nice, she was able to get me in for Monday. At first the call went great. She believed me (which has been a ridiculous challenge) and got me the next appt she could squeeze me into. But at the end of the call she sort of changed, acting like maybe the problem isn't what I think it is. She let me keep the appointment, but her attitude shift sort of pissed me off.

If you are a doctor or a nurse and you're reading this can I just tell you: LISTEN TO YOUR FUCKING PATIENTS. The number of people lying to you has to be miniscule compared to the ones that are telling the truth. We aren't making up the pain. We aren't missing work for fun. In fact, these two weeks have been the least fun I've ever had in my whole life. I would rather be in labor again. Because at least at the end of those couple days I get a cool prize. This has been two straight weeks of hell and no one can tell me why I've suffered with it.

The only reason I've come to the conclusion that I have is by process of elimination. When Cat Scans, Lumbar Punctures, IV Morphine and Barbituates can't alleviate or solve your problem, you have to narrow it down to something. I've reasearched the hell out of it to figure out that it is robably the hormones from the IUD I had placed. I don't care if you believe that or not. I want it fixed NOW.

I don't know if this post even makes sense. And I don't care. I just need to vent and that's what the blog is for right?

Sunday

So I have no idea what's going on with the formatting on blogger. My last post was typed correctly but for some reason it all smooshed together. Sorry about that.

Today has been a hellified writing day for me. I busted out over 2700 words in 45 minutes. It was ridiculous. I'm so glad this book is flowing the way that it is. It's a new project for me, mainstream instead of erotica. And I really like the way it's turning out.

Truth be told I'm a little burnt out from all the word count today. Almost 7k for the day. But it feels so good to get the story out.

It's been a crazy weekend and I'm exhausted, but I'm finally working steadily and it feels pretty damn good.

Time to try for real

Bill and Tommy have been best friends for years and lovers for a little over a month. Spending every night together under the stars in Bill's pickup truck has gotten them through some tough times, but it's not enough anymore. Both men know that the time has come to leave their small town existence and build a better life together somewhere more accepting. They decide that they'd better make their last night in their hometown memorable so they have something good to look back on after they go. So, I haven't been around much. For those of you who still follow this blog that is not a shock. I come and go as I damn well please. But I vow to be better. Now that my website is defunct, the other blog seems to be falling apart, and I haven't written anything in over a month I figure it's time to remember I'm an author and do some f'ng work around here. This weekend I finally finished a MS that I've been working on for over two years. (My editor is over joyed, let me tell you.) But now I have that sticky quesiton..."What's next?" And I have no idea. Some writers can finish one book, submit it and start in on the next. Me, I write in spurts. I can crack out ten books a year or one...or none. When I'm on form I can write like the wind. But when I get in my funks, such as now, the words don't want to give themselves up. In the past I have suffered from bouts of depression. I used to know the warning signs and adjust accordingly. But it's been so long since I've had to deal with it, I think I've forgotten how it feels. But right now, it's the only thing I can think of. All I want to do is sleep. My body hurts. When I eat I either eat too much or eat nothing but junk becuase hey...who gives a fuck right? Not me. Not those around me. I know that is not true. Logically I am well aware that people love me and want whats best for me. When I put actual thought into it I know without a doubt that my life is great and I am way more fortunate than a lot of people. The problem with depression is that there is no room for logic. You don't get to 'stop and think' things through. It is an immediate and sneaky little disease. Because the words that it whispers into your ear about being fat, being dumb, not being good enough for your husband...those are things that we fear. And when our brains start to tell us that those things are absolutely true about ourselves, the chemicals fire and fire and fire and make you believe that is true. Too often in the last few months I have found myself burried in those feelings. So I shut down. I let my husband get mad at me. I don't spend enough time with my kids. I'm cranky and irritable and I insist to everyone that I'm fine. Well, usually when this happens I am not fine. I am stuck. Trapped in my own head with my own voice telling me how awful I am. Then one day the cloud lifts. Because I refuse to medicate anymore (every anti-depressant I've ever taken has made me feel worse than I did before I started taking it. So I prefer to ride the disease like a wave, knowing that there is always a shore I will reach eventually) the break through usually happens when I am able to write again, when I get to see friends that I've missed more than I've admitted even to myself, or when one of my kids says or does something that is so funny or so sweet it shoots through my little grey clouds like a lightening bolt and breaks the storm apart. This weekend it all of those things. My clouds are parting and I can see the sun again. It's beautiful on the other side of a depression. Anyway, that was probably more than you ever needed to know about me, but I had a point to make. I don't remember what that point is, but I had one I swear. Right, right...writing. I am writing again. Therefore I want to start being social with everyone again. I am taking to Twitter and the blog to try to encourage you all to come back to me. I am striving to go back to my funny, quirky self that you all used to love so much. I guess we'll see what happens. Thank you to all of my friends and fans who have stuck by me through my various radio silences. I love you all. D