Blog Tour and Author Guest Post By Lisa Rumsey Harris- The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume

22 Apr, 2013 by in Author Guest Post, The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume Leave a comment


Fire and Ice is pleased to be today’s official blog tour stop for Lisa Rumsey Harris’ book The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Bloom. We have Lisa with us today to share an exclusive post and recipe with our readers!




Confessions from an Unfoodie:
By Lisa Rumsey Harris, author of The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume
I have a confession. I am not a foodie. I eat to live. I don’t live to eat. I don’t spend hours browsing cookbooks, nor do I show up at clandestine parking lots in the wee hours of the morning to nab quality produce.  And although I wish it was different, cooking, for me, is a job, not a joy.
So when I was writing The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume, and discovered that the love interest, Dennis Cameron, was an ex-chef who was now working in a school cafeteria, I was in totally new territory. Short of watching Top Chef, I didn’t have any experience with gourmet grub.  I had to learn a new vocabulary for all his dialogue.  Dennis thought and spoke in food metaphors. I did not. And so, like any good author, I started doing research. I lurked on foodie blogs, googling terms I’d only heard in passing: ragout, sous chef, risotto, and yes, even Turducken.
For Dennis, food is love. It’s his way of creating art, and expressing his emotions. So while I wasn’t a foodie, I suddenly found myself fascinated with food. Foodlore and recipes expose so much about how people live and love. That’s what I wanted to come through in Dennis.
Dennis’s dishes revealed his character. The simplicity and quality of ingredients make him happy. That’s why he had such issues with the cafeteria food ( Side-bar: I wrote this before Michelle Obama launched her lunch-room reform campaign. Dennis would have been a fan. My children, used to chicken nuggets and cinnamon rolls in the lunchroom, are not. ) Dennis describes Treasure as spinach (a flattering comparison, in his estimation) and pictures beautiful bouquets of broccoli when he gets stressed out.  And when he falls in love with Treasure Blume, he makes butternut squash boats that he calls “a love sonnet in a pot.”
“Tasty? said Dennis. “That’s all you can come up with?” He took a bite off the same spoon. “The cinnamon is home and holidays and warmth, and the chili powder is heat and passion and adventure. I’ve given you a love sonnet in a pot and all you can come up with is tasty?”
“Really tasty?” she said” (217).
This may be my favorite food bit in the book. I dug deep into my childhood to base these squash boats on a real family recipe. Unfoodie that I am, I do have foodie roots. Like Grammy Blume, I come from pioneer stock. My family recipes, handed down from generations of farmers and ranchers, feature simple ingredients and yield enough to feed the threshers.  One recipe starts out “Kill and clean six stewing hens . . .” no joke!   And so for Dennis’s love sonnet, I decided to use the recipe that meant love to me as a child.

This recipe has Dennis’s epicurean chef spin, but the heart of it is my grandmother’s hubbard squash pie recipe. We eat it at Thanksgiving while the rest of the world is eating pumpkin pie. In it, I replaced hubbard with butternut, because it’s so much more friendly and easier to use than hubbard. The skin is so thick and tough on a hubbard that the recipe begins with my grandmother’s admonition to split the squash with an axe.  With butternut, you can skip the ax. Then you need to peel the rind, and clean the squash (if you’re my grandma, you save the seeds for the next year’s planting). Cut and cube, then boil until soft. Next, mill the squash (which is pushing the squash through a tough strainer with a big paddle).  

Once you have your stewed and strained squash, the recipe for Dennis’s Love Sonnet Squash pie is easy:
2 cups stewed and strained squash
2 cups cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
1 cup brown or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Mix squash with milk, sugar, beaten eggs, salt and spices. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour into pie tin lined with pastry, (or in the book, Dennis uses hollowed out squash shells). Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then at 350 for 30 minutes.  And in the end, you’ll have a creamy, custardy, earthy delicious piece of my family history, and Dennis’s love for Treasure Blume.

Book Summary: With her love of sweaters, goofy hair, and awkward manners—not to mention her family curse—Treasure Blume knows love is not in her future. That is, until she matches wits with Dennis Cameron, a divorced chef with a six-year-old daughter. Full of mischief, mayhem, and laugh-out-loud humor, this is an unlikely love story you’ll want to read over and over again!



About the author: Lisa Rumsey Harris is from Downey, Idaho, where she grew up writing stories and riding horses. She graduated magna cum laude from BYU with a degree in English and a minor in Humanities.She honed her writing skills while working at BYU Development Communications, where she wrote brochures, letters, and conducting notes for President Merrill J. Bateman. She received her Master’s Degree in English in August 2003.

Sparked by the experiences of her own grandmother, Lisa’s thesis explored the dissonance between real ranch women and the representations of ranch women in literature. She presented her findings at the Hawaiian International Conference on the Arts and Humanities.

Lisa’s passion for the American West is rivaled only by her passions for teaching and writing. She began teaching Honors Writing courses in Fall 2003. Her teaching inspiration is her own mother, who as Lisa’s high school Spanish teacher, taught her the importance of finding innovative approaches to encourage active learning.
As a writer, Lisa has won numerous awards for her short stories, essays, and cowboy poetry, including a Sunstone award in the Brookie and D.K Brown Memorial Fiction Contest. Lisa lives in Orem, Utah, with her multi-talented husband, her adorable sunshine daughters, and her ancient Siamese cat.

Learn more on Goodreads/ author website

Author Interview with Jeff Olsen – I Knew Their Hearts

19 Apr, 2013 by in author interview Leave a comment

Choose Joy.
Those two simple words are what the heavens whispered to Jeff Olsen after he lost his wife and 14- month old- son in a 1997 car accident. It would be 15 years later when Jeff would once again receive a whisper– this time telling him that this story of tragedy turned to healing needed to be shared and published. 
There are many lessons that come from reading about Jeff’s journey in his book I Knew Their Hearts. But what captured my attention most of all is the goodness of Jeff’s soul. Despite having lost his leg, enduring 18 surgeries, and daily pain, he is optimistic. He has a love for each person he comes in contact with– for the ER surgeon who attended to him right after the accident (now a dear friend), and for mankind.   in this poignant memoir, he describes his life, his near-death experience, and the years after. Jeff was given the gift of “knowing the beauty of each individual and seeing them as God sees them.” He knows their hearts.
 In our interview, he emphasized  “letting go of judgment and expectations; letting go of our agenda and being at one with what is.”
“Our lives are absolutely perfect. No matter what we are going through, it is all going to be okay. We are in very good hands.”
Jeff’s most rewarding experience in writing has come through the people he meets, and the emails and letters he receives.  “I knew if I would simply share my experience, people would heal from it.” 
“I got an envelope from my publisher soon after the book was published . I thought may be my first royalty check. Instead, inside was a 3 x 5 card with teeny tiny writing from a prisoner in the Clark County Jail of Vancouver. He wrote about his life, what he had lost and learned, and what had changed from reading my book. I wept with gratitude that I was able to play some part in helping another understand what they really are, instead of who they think they are.”
So often we read a book and we put it away without applying the lessons that it has to offer us. We pick up our life where we left off.  After reading I Knew Their Hearts, and talking to the author, I had to change my way of thinking. It caused a paradigm shift in me about our divine purpose and how to overcome adversity through love. This is one of those books that has the potential to change your heart if you let it. 
Thanks so much to Jeff Olsen for sharing his story and teaching that each of us should “seek stillness, find those things which resonate with our soul and make this time Heaven on earth, letting our heart guide us to God.”

Book Summary: After a tragic accident took the life of his wife and son, Jeff needed a miracle. This personal and poignant journey into the life after death shares the true story of Jeff’s out-of-body experiences and his newly remembered ability to communicate at a deeper level with people on both sides of the veil. It’s a moving read you won’t want to miss!


KSL Mormon Times video with the author:



 Jeff runs the Atonenow community on facebook and a group which gathers the 1st Friday of every month at the historic City and County building room 315 in Salt Lake City. He is in the process of writing book two about meeting his current wife, adopting two sons and how he and his oldest son put their lives back together.

Author Guest Post on Irish Travellers by Dana Michelle Burnett

18 Apr, 2013 by in Author Guest Post, Once 2 comments

First off, thanks for having me on the blog!  It’s always such a treat to meet new readers and introduce them to my characters.


Once is the first book in my Gypsy Fairy Tale series and it centers around a secretive group of Irish Travellers and a family of the Tuatha De Danann that hides among them.  I always wanted to write something about fairies and while I was researching fairy lore, I discovered that the first rulers of Ireland were a magical tribe that gave birth to the fairy legends of today.  


Wow!  Now how was I supposed to put THAT in a book and have it make any sort of sense?  I kept at my research, adding to my notes over the next year, but I never could really figure it out.
Finally, thanks to my daughter’s love of magic shows, an idea began to percolate.  What if members of the Tuatha De Danann were working in a circus or carnival?  Their magical powers would go unnoticed because they wouldn’t be hidden.  Hmm…..Now how am I supposed to make THAT work?  Oh, the problems of a writer!
The final breakthrough came one night as I was watching television.  There I was, not writing, not even thinking about writing, when My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding came on.  I was thrust right into the secretive world of Irish Travellers.  

Here was a group of people with old world ideas regarding behavior and honor, a people that lived on the outskirts of society, and a people that could be seen as logically traveling with or as a circus. Hmm…Irish Travellers….What if they were hiding a really big secret….What if they were hiding the Tuatha De Danann?
Okay, so I had my premise.  The rest was easy.  Girl meets Irish Traveller boy, boy turns out to be part of the magical Tuatha De Danann tribe, girl falls for boy, and then the bad guys show up.  At least that’s the very shortened version.
So, how about some Traveller Trivia?
  • Irish Travellers often speak a mingled language known as “The Cant”, making it difficult for outsiders to understand them when they speak amongst themselves.
  • Irish Travellers have very strict rules involving encounters between unmarried couples. Often a chaperone will accompany a young couple on all of their dates.
  • Irish Traveller women rarely drink alcohol, if ever.
  • Irish Travellers are in a constant battle for their rights. In the past few years, they have lost land battles in the UK, the most famous being Dale Farm.
  • Gypsy is actually a derogatory term for both Irish Travellers and Romani.
It was difficult to research such a closed group, but I have come to admire the quiet determination that seems to exist in them and has made it possible for them to survive despite discrimination.  I could easily see them as being the good guys like in my story.


About the Author: 

Dana Michelle Burnett spent most of her life writing short stories and sharing them with family and friends. Over the years, her work was published in numerous commercial and literary magazines  including Just Labs, Mindprints: A Literary Journal, Foliate Oak, and many more.  Her short story John Lennon and the Chicken Holocaust was include in The Best of Foliate Oak 2006.  

Dana Michelle’s Spiritus Series introduced the idea of a ghostly romance and became a Kindle bestselling series.  She’s an avid reader of anything dark and romantic.  Dana Michelle lives in Southern Indiana with her dancing diva daughter and an assortment of pets.
Dana Michelle loves connecting with her readers find her on facebook/ twitter/ Goodreads/ Pinterest


Book Summary for Once: Gypsy Fairy Tale #1

Beautiful. Secretive. Magical. You envy their freedom, but you are distrustful of their ways. A strange carnival has come to Corydon, Indiana and the Irish Travellers have captured the small town’s attention–but it’s Harmony who’s attracted theirs. 
Harmony sees the Travellers everywhere and just like everyone else in town she’s curious. But once she meets the mysterious and captivating Kieran, Harmony’s life takes an exciting and chilling turn. 


Up until now, Harmony never believed that fairy tales or myths were real, but Kieran and his family belong to an ancient tribe called the Tuatha de Dannan and someone else has discovered their secret. 


An ancient battle is about to begin again, and now no one is safe, especially Harmony. Can Kieran resist the urge to be with her or will his feelings put her in the crossfire?

Netgalley YA Early Review- Rebel Spirits by Lois Ruby

16 Apr, 2013 by in Rebel Spirits, scholastic, ya 2 comments

Rebel Spirits 
by Lois Ruby
Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: June 1st 2013
by Point
ISBN 0545426235
Book Source: Netgalley 
4.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Infused with history and mystery, this tale of ghosts, love, and murder takes place in present-day Gettysburg, where the Civil War still looms large.

Lori Chase doesn’t know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings…right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone’s mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori’s parents run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers.

Then Lori meets one such soldier–the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel’s soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori’s help. Because Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets.

At the same time, she can’t help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her.


Review: Being the history lover that I am, when I saw this book summary on Netgalley about a Civil War era YA title;  I had to give it a try. And, I’m happy to report I was not disappointed. 

Lori and her parents have just relocated from Philly to Gettysburg to take on ownership of  a bed and breakfast. Along with the staff that seems to think they come with the home, the locals who re enact Civil War battles each year and the teen hot shot who mows the lawn; there is also a resident ghost. Nathaniel is drawn to Lori as someone with the ability to see those who have passed on. She may just be the key to solving his murder and how exactly he ended up buried in the local cemetery instead of being honored as a fallen soldier. With a ring that belonged to Lincoln’s infant son, a night time visitor to the shed behind the hotel and a foggy graveyard there is plenty of suspense.


Rebel Spirits would be a good one to teach in the classroom as it is clean and has historical elements. There are a lot of themes that could be explored surrounding Lincoln, the Gettysburg area and period homes. The only minor flaw I struggled with was the role of Lori’s parents. They were completely hands off, wrapped up in managing the affairs of their business until the plot re introduces them at a conveniently crucial time and their reaction seems not in synch with their previous absence of influence in Lori’s comings and goings. I also would have loved more fleshing out of the characters. The romance is sweet and the story stuck with me after I was done!

Content: Some kissing, sneaking out to be together and mild violence.


About the Author:  Lois Ruby is the author of fifteen books for middle-graders and teens, including STEAL AWAY HOME, SKIN DEEP, and THE SECRET OF LAUREL OAKS. She and her husband live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the foothills of the awesome Sandia Mountains. Lois explores lots of haunted places, including ghostly locations in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and even a few spooky spots in Australia and Thailand. No spirits have tapped her on the shoulder yet, but she hasn’t given up hope.

Learn more on goodreads/ author website

Blog Tour and Review- The Continuous Conversion by Brad Wilcox

12 Apr, 2013 by in review, The Continuous Conversion 3 comments

The Continuous Conversion God Isn’t Just Proving Us, He’s Improving Us
by Brad Wilcox
232 Pages
Hardcover
Published 2013
Book Source: Publisher
5 stars

Product Description from Deseret Book: I wrote this book because I know too many people who are giving up! One discouraged friend said, “I can’t do this Mormon thing. I’ve tried, and the expectations are just way too high.” … I know returned missionaries who spent their entire missions teaching about the Atonement, but now they have made some mistakes and feel like the Atonement won’t work for them. I know people who have gone to the temple to be sealed and then never returned. I know others who are feeling burned out in their callings. Too many Latter-day Saints feel like they will never measure up. I wanted to write something that will provide hope and motivation next time we or those we love are tempted to toss in the towel. I wanted to write something that would remind people why we do what we do and that it’s worth it–not because of all we are earning, but because of all we are learning. Instead of just going through the motions, I wanted people to read this book and once again feel the emotions of discipleship. That’s what they are missing. Whether the challenge is getting more out of the temple endowment or dealing with callings or juggling the many aspects of our lives and feeling like we are dropping too many balls, I wanted to provide a shot in the arm.
I started writing The Continuous Atonement when I was serving as the bishop of a young single adult ward…. I realized that there was an aspect of the Atonement they didn’t get. They knew about how the Atonement could cleanse and console us, but they didn’t grasp how it can transform us and how Christ offers us His enabling power however long that transformation process takes–even continuously. This book picks up that same theme and answers the question, “How?” “How do I apply the Atonement and feel it’s transforming power on a continuous basis?” True conversion is not a onetime event, but a process that takes time. Most people accept that in theory, but we still beat ourselves up when we fall short. My message is “Be patient. You are doing better than you realize. Hang in there!” We are not paying our way into heaven. We’re practicing for it! —Brad Wilcox
“I can’t do this Mormon thing,” a friend told Brad Wilcox. “I’ve tried, and the expectations are just way too high.” And she’s not alone in her thinking. Many people, as they feel themselves falling short of perfection, are tempted to quit trying.
But are there only two options? Think of it this way: When a person is learning to play the piano, are the only two options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? Similarly, in mortality, are the only two choices being perfect or giving up?
“No,” writes Brad Wilcox. “Growth and development take time. Learning takes practice. Discipleship is a journey, and true conversion is a continuous process.”
In this hope-filled book, Brad shares his keen understanding and testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ as it relates to our own conversion. Conversion occurs, he says, “when we stop trying to earn heaven and start trying to learn it. . . As we take each little step to show faith, repent, make and live covenants, seek the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end, we are not paying our way into heaven. We are practicing for it.“
Review: So many of us feel that we just don’t measure up or can’t make it into heaven. Mr. Wilcox addresses this very issue in his newest book The Continuous Conversion. “We aren’t earning our way into heaven were are learning our way into heaven.” 
The entire book is filled with the profound idea that we are making it there step by step and that the path to becoming a better person takes a gradual and continual progress over time. Conversion is not a fast or “on the surface” change, it is a deep rooted and little by little, day by day– totally achievable goal. 
As a former missionary in Chile I could relate to his examples from the field there. My favorite stories were of him reaching to youth at EFY and prisoners who had and had not experienced conversion. Brother Wilcox has a deep love for others and his counsel is filled with compassion.
Each chapter of The Continuous Conversion has a theme with so many hopeful point of doctrine to ponder. Temple worship, repentance, the names we are given and serving with zeal are some of the topics addressed. This book should and could be read more than once.
Brother Wilcox really helped me look at things in a completely new light and I would love to hear this one in audio so we can listen to it again and again as these are lessons for everyone that make an impression on the soul.
Thanks so much to Deseret Book for the wonderful read!
About the Author: Brad Wilcox is an associate professor in the department of Teacher Education at Brigham Young University, where he also works with programs such as Especially for Youth and Campus Education Week. As a young man, he served his mission in Chile, and he was later called back to that country to preside over the Chile Santiago East Mission from 2003 to 2003. He currently serves as a member of the Sunday School general board.
Brad is the author of the bestselling book The Continuous Atonement and the BYU devotional “His Grace Is Sufficient.” He and his wife, Debi, are the parents of four children and grandparents of three.
Read an excerpt of The Continuous Conversion at DeseretBook.com

David Farland Family Tragedy Book Bomb

10 Apr, 2013 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

On Wednesday April 4th, bestselling author Dave Farland’s (aka Dave Wolverton’s) 16 year old son was critically injured in a long boarding accident. “He suffers from severe brain trauma, a cracked skull, broken pelvis and tail bone, burnt knees, bruised lungs, broken ear drums, road rash, pneumonia, and is currently in a coma. His family has no insurance.” as stated in the Examiner Press release.

Fire and Ice is one of many blogs participating in a book bomb for the author and his family to help raise funds for the medical bills which continue to mount. There are many ways to contribute which you can find on this website. 100% of the funds from Dave’s two books Nightingale and Million Dollar Outlines will be donated to the cause.

Our prayers go out to the Farland family and we hope you will post this information on your site today as part of the book bomb.

Author Bio from Amazon: David Farland is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author with dozens of books to his credit. He began his career writing short fiction as a prize writer, which vaulted him into prominence in the mid-1980s. He has written science fiction under his own name, Dave Wolverton, including the highly praised “On My Way to Paradise,” which won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award for “Best Novel in the English Language.”

David has also written novels in the Star Wars and Mummy Universes, and has worked as a videogame designer, most notably for Starcraft’s Brood War.
In 1999 he set the Guinness Record for the World’s Largest single-person, single book signing.
In the mid-1990s he began to follow his love for writing fantasy under the pen name David Farland, where he became best known for his international bestselling Runelords series; though he has also won the Whitney Award for best novel of the year for his historical novel “In the Company of Angels,” and he also won the International Book Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year, along with the Hollywood Book Award for Best Book of the year for his Young Adult fantasy thriller, “Nightingale.”

Netgalley Free Ebook Review- Double Crossed by Ally Carter

09 Apr, 2013 by in netgalley Leave a comment

Double Crossed: A Spies and Thieves Story 
by Ally Carter
ebook, 60 pages
Published January 22nd 2013
by Disney Hyperion
ISBN1423187474
Heist Society #2.5, Gallagher Girls #5.5
Book Source: Netgalley
4 stars
Summary from Goodreads: Macey McHenry—Glamorous society girl or spy-in-training?
W.W. Hale V—Heir to an American dynasty or master thief?
There are two sides to every coin. Whether these two can work together is a tossup.
Born into privilege, Macey and Hale are experts at mingling with the upper class. But even if they’ve never raised an eyebrow at the glitz, neither teenager has ever felt at home with the glamour.
When Macey and Hale meet at a society gala, the party takes a dangerous turn. Suddenly they’re at the center of a hostage situation, and it’s up to them to stop the thugs from becoming hostile. Will Macey’s spy skills and Hale’s con-man ways be enough to outsmart a ruthless gang? Or will they have to seek out the ultimate inside girl to help?
The worlds of Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls collide in Ally Carter’s fast-paced, high-stakes and tantalizing new story. Get a behind the scenes glimpse as Ally delivers an irresistible thriller that is full of her signature style and savvy twists.
Review: Ally Carter is one of those automatic authors for me…I see a book she releases and I buy it. I was first introduced to her Heist Society series while browsing art at the Met Museum in NYC with Tales of A Ravenous Readr. Since reading Uncommon Criminals I’ve been hooked! When I saw this fun novella that blends both of her series characters into one setting I had to check it out.  I’ve never read the Gallagher Girls, but they are at the top of my wish list after sampling Macey’s personality in Double Crossed. I want to get to know Macey McHenry as well as I now know Hale. The aloof, ruffled, handsome Heister I know and love.
Macey and Hale are thrown into a high stake situation at a high society gala when the event is hijacked by men in masks. They have the jaws of life and don;t seem to be in much of a hurry to pull off the job–so what are they really after?  The banter between Macey and Hale makes me want to see much more interaction between these two series. Both are confident in their abilities and both have an air of “I know best.”  We also have some cameos by others from the books and the result is a mash up of awesome proportions.  If you haven;t discovered Ally Carter check this one out for free on Netgalley to wet your whistle and then dive right in!
Content: moderate violence, recommend for ages 16 and up

Author Bio from her website: I  was born and raised in Oklahoma. My mother was a teacher and my father a farmer and rancher. I have one older sister.
In high school, I was very active in a number of student organizations and graduated as co-valedictorian of my senior class. I then attended Oklahoma State University and Cornell University and worked for several years in the agricultural industry before writing full-time.
My first novel, Cheating at Solitaire (Berkley) was published in 2005. The following year I published the sequel to Solitaire, Learning to Play Gin. There are no more plans for future books in that series at this time.
My first novel for young adults, I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You was published by Disney-Hyperion in April 2006. Love You Kill You (as we call it) was followed by Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (October 2007), Don’t Judge a Girl By Her Cover (June 2009), Only the Good Spy Young (June 2010), Out of Sight, Out of Time (March 2012). Book six will be the final Gallagher Girls novel. Look for it in stores in 2013.
I am also the author of Heist Society (February 2010) and its sequels Uncommon Criminals (June 2011), and Perfect Scoundrels (February 2013).
My books have been published in more than twenty countries and have appeared on best-seller lists from the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, and Bookscan. They have sold over two million copies.
I am one of the luckiest people in the world, and today, I’m able to do the job I wanted to do when I was a kid, and I am back living in Oklahoma.