Shine On Now with American Girl Dolls!

Every now and then, big companies do things that make parents want to stand up and cheer.  American Girl Doll is one of those companies, and Shine On Now is the reason to cheer.

American Girl has created parent partners across the globe in an effort to raise money for four important charities benefiting children.  Books on the House for Kids and Teens is one of those parent partners.

The program – Shine On Now – wants to “foster a spirit of goodwill and make the world a brighter place”. Okay, so what does that mean?

We have until July 31st to do our part in helping American Girl Dolls donate $1,000,000 to one of four charities.  Let’s break it down:

American Girl’s Mission:

Empower girls and show them that THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!Collectively, girls everywhere can impact lives.

The plan:

Shine On Now provides girls with an opportunity to help the American Girl Doll company donate $1,000,000 in “clothes, books, dolls, and money” to one of the following charities:

• Kids in Distressed Situations
• Save the Children U.S.A.
• National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions
• National Wildlife Federation

The Nitty Gritty:

Here’s how it works: girls visit shineonnow.com to contribute a free ‘star’ to the effort. The company’s goal is to collect one million stars by July 31, 2010. For every star a girl contributes (she can donate up to 100 each day AND IT’S FREE!), her name will automatically be entered in a daily drawing to win a new My American Girl™ doll.  On top of that, Books on the House for kids and teens is running a separate contest thanks to American Girl.  We get to give away another American Girl Doll to one deserving girl!

But wait, there’s more!  American Girl Doll has also created Innerstar University™—”a fun, safe online world where girls learn to be their best through a variety of games, quizzes, and other enriching activities that help boost their confidence and strength”.

So, what can you do?  Go to SHINE ON NOW to contribute a free star, for starters!  And then go to Books on the House for Kids and Teens and leave a comment telling us about one deserving girl in your community.  That girl will be entered into the Books on the House contest to receive her very own American Girl Doll!

Don’t wait!

Tell us about a girl in your community who is deserving of an American Girl Doll. Tell us her story.  Help spread the love.

Hasta La Vista, Lola

Today is a super exciting day…

Misa Ramirez‘s new book, Hasta La Vista Lola is being released today!

Misa has been a Burb Mom contributor over the last year and the first author I ever interviewed.  She survived both and wrote a fabulous new book too!

I loved her last book and can’t wait to dive into Lola’s new adventures in this one.

Misa will be appearing for books signings during the next few months all over the metroplex.  Here are some details on an event in Denton:

It is on Friday, February 19th at Barnes & Noble from 6:00 to 7:30.  Please watch for other signings and be sure to pick up the book!

Alter Egos

I’m a bookie.  Nope, I do not mean that I take bets and gamble!  I mean it like some people are foodies.  I love books.  Put me in a bookstore and I’m a happy girl.  Give me a book to read on a hot summer day, a brisk autumn afternoon, a cold winter night and I’m thrilled.

But what I’ve found is that I have an alter ego.

I do, and no, I do not have multiple personality disorder.  My alter ego’s name is Lola Cruz.  She’s a smart, sexy, sassy, Latina detective.

Let me just say this.  While I am smart and I have the potential to be sexy (at least according to my husband–*wink wink*–and when the stars are aligned, I’m having a good hair day, and I’m down those dastardly five pounds that make or break a great dress), I’m not terribly sassy, am not Latina (though I do like to say that I’m proud to be Latina by marriage), and am not actually a detective (unless you count all the detecting that is a natural part of motherhood–like figuring out just who finished off the bag of chocolate chips in the freezer, or where the missing band t-shirt is five minutes before your child NEEDS it for a competition).

But still, if I were smart, sexy, and sassy–the whole enchilada–, I’d be Lola Cruz.  She lives in my head.  Not in a she tells me what to do scary Sybll kind of way, but in a she’s real to me way and I want to be her sometimes–or at least have her rub off on me.  I want to do the things she does, be empowered to follow my dreams the way she does, and have a personality that sparkles–like she does.

What is it about Lola, and other fictional characters, for that matter, that make us want to be them for a little while…or at the very least be their friend?  It’s not that my life isn’t great.  It is.  I’ve got the same kinds of ups and downs that Lola does–minus the danger and threats to my life, but hey, she doesn’t have 5 kids, 2 of whom are in high school band.  Not sure she could handle that.  Enough said.

I’ve given this a lot of thought and the answer for me is that those characters who we really respond to actually compliment who we are and those parts of our personalities that are tucked away.  The characters represent something in us that isn’t fully realized.  Don’t we all want to have a little bit of Scarlett O’Hara’s (Gone With the Wind) determination and fighting spirit?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the calm and peacefulness of August Boatwright (Secret Lives of Bees)?  Can’t you just see those Bridgerton (Julia Quinn’s romance series) siblings loaning you sugar if you were all out and desperately needed a cup?  Aren’t they the kind of people you want to surround yourself with?

That’s what good books do.  They give us built in friends (or alter egos) whom we adore spending time with and who bring out something that’s in us, and that isn’t accessed in any other way.

The characters we respond to are three-dimensional, are flawed, have hopes and dreams, and are painted in such a way that we can see them, hear them, feel them, and almost smell and taste them.  They appeal to each and every one of our senses and seep into our consciousness until we almost think that they are real.  That’s what I love about Lola and my other fictional friends.  They’re like comfort food.  They’re there when I need them, when I want the comfort of someone familiar.  It’s what’s so appealing about romance.  We’re guaranteed the HEA, and with our fictional friends, it’s even more meaningful because that HEA is about someone we care about.

So, back to my initial statement.  Do you have an alter ego–a person you sometimes dream of being?  Who is it and what is it about that character that speaks to you?

Lola Cruz’s Spanish Rice

In each of Misa Ramirez’s Lola Cruz Mystery Series’ books there’s delicious food.  Living the Vida Lola is being released tomorrow!  In honor of the upcoming book release…

Now, the authentic, but simplified “Lola” recipes, are available for you.  The first is a Cruz staple: Spanish Rice.  No meal is complete without it!

A Lola Cruz Recipie #1 Spanish Rice

Also called Sopa de Arroz, this dish can be made with fresh onions, garlic, and tomatoes, or you can do it the simplified “Lola” way.

Ingredients

• 2 to 4 Tablespoons oil
• 1 cup Long Grain white rice
• One 6-oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• (the seasoning Adobo can be substituted for the garlic and onion)
• 1 tsp. salt, to taste
• 2 cups water or chicken broth

Directions

1. Heat oil in heavy saucepan.
2. Add rice and brown.
3. Stir in 3/4 of the can of tomato sauce (add more if you prefer moist rice, less if you prefer it less tomatoey and drier).
4. Add water (or broth), garlic and onion powder, and salt.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Buen Provecho!

A Little Flavor or Lola: “When I was fourteen years old, I snapped pictures of Jack Callaghan doing the horizontal salsa in the back seat of a car with Greta Pritchard. That’s when I knew for sure I’d grow up to be a private eye.”

–From Living the Vida Lola, St. Martin’s Press January 20, 2009–

For more information about the Lola Cruz Mystery Series, and for more Lola recipies, visit Misa’s website.

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