Hi, friends. And Happy Valentine’s Day. Because we’re all about the Lurve around here, I brought out my favorite non-related twin sister to share a moment of hilarity with you. What? You didn’t know that Sarah Eden and I were sisters? Then you may have missed THIS, in which we discuss our similarities, I trip her language sensor, and she draws a Stunning Likeness of me. Sarah, as you may know, writes Regency romances with sass and humor. Also, she has great hair. There’s this other thing about Miss Sarah, and that is that she’s way, way tech savvy. And, as you likely know, I am SO not. I wanted to embed (imbed?) a video that Sarah made, but all I could manage was a link to YouTube. So if you go away to watch it, promise you’ll come back and read the rest of her story. And leave a comment. So you can be entered TO WIN A BOOK! Sarah’s newest, “Friends and Foes” which I own (but you can’t have mine) and have read, laughed through, and very much enjoyed. I’ll send a copy of it to YOU, if you’re our winner. Just leave a comment, and you’re in. Totally. (So long as you get your packages in the US and Canada, you know the drill.) All right. Here she is:
Cheetos Never Prosper: a cautionary tale
Ask any author what they eat while they’re writing and 99.9% of the time they’ll have a very immediate and detailed answer. Some tend toward healthy choices like apple slices and organic carrots. The rest of us think of the pain and torture and effort of writing as a clear indication we “deserve” something that barely counts as food, like twinkies and M&Ms.
My writing food of choice, for many, many years, was Cheetos. I love them with a devotion that just might be a sign of some deeper sickness. I love that they are crunchy and make a snapping sound when you bite into them. The fake cheese taste I find oddly satisfying. Even the constant hint of orange I found on my fingers held a special spot in my heart. Sadly, I discovered within the last couple years that Cheetos and I can no longer be friends: eating even a couple leaves me miserably ill. We gaze longingly at each other when I happen to wander down the snack food aisle at the grocery store. But ours is a star-crossed fate.
Don’t believe I am that devoted to the food-like snack product? I created this very touching video two Valentine’s Days ago. Watch. And learn.
A few years back, before my falling out with Cheetos, when I was still consuming mind-boggling quantities of the crispy orange snacks of yumminess, my husband found endless entertainment in the vague hint of orange that forever radiated from the keys on my laptop. It wasn’t a heavy caking by any means, just the slightest tint. I dabbed at the keys with an ever so slightly damp cloth on a regular basis,tidying things up a bit, and things were going along just swimmingly.
Well, as is always the case with electronics, my laptop hit a rough patch. Things were running more or less okay, but I was having trouble with my word processing program. I had discovered that about one in every ten or so letters I typed didn’t show up on the screen. I was convinced that my skills and superhero-like speed on the keyboard was proving too much for my computer to keep up with. I needed a faster processor or a newer… insert something here that sounds impressively technical.
My husband is a computer guy. Like, for a living. He is used to trouble-shooting problems. Most of the time, he has assured me, the problem isn’t with the computer, but with the user. As a “user” I try not to be offended.
In the midst of my computer struggles, he was wise enough not to pose that particular theory. He suggested that the difficulty might be in the keys themselves, not the program keeping track of keystrokes. Looking back I am amazed at his ability to not look annoyed or even speak aloud his true suspicions. He grabbed one of those pressurized cans of air that is used to blow dust and stuff like that out of keyboards. That sort of thing can happen, he told me, and the dust gets trapped under the keys making it hard to push the key in far enough for the computer to register it.
Makes sense, right? And totally not my fault. Dust is everywhere. I know. I dust my house all the time.
So my husband blew the air at the keyboard.
We were immediately engulfed in an enormous cloud of orange dust. Orange. Orange!
After a few more puffs, just to be sure, he said something to the effect of “I bet that will fix the problem.” What I heard…? “I told you so.” And he was right.
A word to the wise… eat responsibly.
(34) Comments for this blog
Bahahaha!! Orange. That is priceless.
Also I very much enjoyed reading “Seeking Persephone,” which I borrowed from you, Becca, at Christmastime…and now need to get back to you….
I would LOVE to receive one of miss Sarah’s other novels! 😀
Bahahaha!! Orange. That is priceless.
Also I very much enjoyed reading “Seeking Persephone,” which I borrowed from you, Becca, at Christmastime…and now need to get back to you….
I would LOVE to receive one of miss Sarah’s other novels! 😀
TOO FUNNY. Thanks for the morning laugh!
TOO FUNNY. Thanks for the morning laugh!
I have no idea how she’s so little with all the fat in those things. I love them too but can only eat them occassionally.
Very funny.
I have no idea how she’s so little with all the fat in those things. I love them too but can only eat them occassionally.
Very funny.
Hahaha! Oh my goodness. ‘We stare longingly at each other …’ That is hilarious. 🙂 I’ve been known to get my morning cereal down in the keyboard, but never anything orange.
Sarah A. got it right: Priceless. <3 Haha
Would love to read one of those novels!
Hahaha! Oh my goodness. ‘We stare longingly at each other …’ That is hilarious. 🙂 I’ve been known to get my morning cereal down in the keyboard, but never anything orange.
Sarah A. got it right: Priceless. <3 Haha
Would love to read one of those novels!
Haha, Susan! Thank goodness I can’t eat Cheetos anymore, eh?
Haha, Susan! Thank goodness I can’t eat Cheetos anymore, eh?
I would type a longer comment, but just having to get up off the floor from laughing to type it is too much. PRICE. LESS.
I would type a longer comment, but just having to get up off the floor from laughing to type it is too much. PRICE. LESS.
I feel for Tostitos Cheese Dip the way Sarah does for Cheetoes. I feel for Cheetoes the way I do for mint. Blech. I don’t touch the stuff.
But I won’t hold her Cheeto love against Sarah because I did LOVE her video. And also her book Kiss of a Stranger. And I would LOVE to win her new book!
I feel for Tostitos Cheese Dip the way Sarah does for Cheetoes. I feel for Cheetoes the way I do for mint. Blech. I don’t touch the stuff.
But I won’t hold her Cheeto love against Sarah because I did LOVE her video. And also her book Kiss of a Stranger. And I would LOVE to win her new book!
I, too have loved Cheetoes for years and recently had a dramatic health change where eating them is NOT an option–unless I’m in the mood for swollen facial parts! I feel your pain as you walk past them in the aisle. ‘sigh’ If only I could eat it once more… On a brighter note, I have wanted to read a Sarah Eden book for many moons now, but live far from happy valley. And no one will share them on Paperbackswap! Pick me! Pick me!
I, too have loved Cheetoes for years and recently had a dramatic health change where eating them is NOT an option–unless I’m in the mood for swollen facial parts! I feel your pain as you walk past them in the aisle. ‘sigh’ If only I could eat it once more… On a brighter note, I have wanted to read a Sarah Eden book for many moons now, but live far from happy valley. And no one will share them on Paperbackswap! Pick me! Pick me!
Your husband is a wise, wise man.
Also, my dad is a computer guy and uses the word “user” as if it’s the most vicious of swear words . . .
Now, pick me! Pick me! I’m a fellow former-Cheetos devotee (dairy and I have parted ways temporarily, and tragically) and I’m about to have a baby. I SO deserve a free book!
Your husband is a wise, wise man.
Also, my dad is a computer guy and uses the word “user” as if it’s the most vicious of swear words . . .
Now, pick me! Pick me! I’m a fellow former-Cheetos devotee (dairy and I have parted ways temporarily, and tragically) and I’m about to have a baby. I SO deserve a free book!
I love that! Thanks for the guest post. It makes me want to find my own snack food, especially since I should be writing right now, rather than reading. But who could resist that story! 🙂
I love that! Thanks for the guest post. It makes me want to find my own snack food, especially since I should be writing right now, rather than reading. But who could resist that story! 🙂
So funny, I like the taste of Cheetos, just not the messy orange fingers!
So funny, I like the taste of Cheetos, just not the messy orange fingers!
Orange is my favorite color, but, well, I don’t like it on my fingers. Although I *do* like Cheetos. It’s one of those conundrums.
I’d LOVE to win Friends and Foes. Thanks for the giveaway.
Orange is my favorite color, but, well, I don’t like it on my fingers. Although I *do* like Cheetos. It’s one of those conundrums.
I’d LOVE to win Friends and Foes. Thanks for the giveaway.
I would Loooooove to win Friends and Foes! Also, cheetos are yummy.
I would Loooooove to win Friends and Foes! Also, cheetos are yummy.
You’re lucky it was just the actual computer. My entire computer desk is a disgrace to my husband and gives him hives. 🙂
Win Me a Book! (I’m talking to the universe.)
You’re lucky it was just the actual computer. My entire computer desk is a disgrace to my husband and gives him hives. 🙂
Win Me a Book! (I’m talking to the universe.)
I super want this book. Even if it has vaguely orange fingerprints on it.
I super want this book. Even if it has vaguely orange fingerprints on it.
I have never read one of Sarah’s books but love the post so definitely want to give it a try. HATE CHEETOS!
I have never read one of Sarah’s books but love the post so definitely want to give it a try. HATE CHEETOS!
awhile back i asked the librarian for a book recommendation. she raved about a certain book she had finished–courting miss lancaster. she put me on the hold list. it was very long–it seemed she wasn’t the only one recommending it. i would love to read friends and foes!
awhile back i asked the librarian for a book recommendation. she raved about a certain book she had finished–courting miss lancaster. she put me on the hold list. it was very long–it seemed she wasn’t the only one recommending it. i would love to read friends and foes!