Zoe is writing a sweet book about ninjas. Except she doesn’t actually know that many credible facts about ninjas. So she googled ninjas, to see what she could find.

And she stumbled onto the Awesomest Ninja Site Evah (though Zoe disagrees): Real Ultimate Power! It’s a site I found a few years ago, and I even have one of their sweet t-shirts (I wore it to a family reunion once, and got the weirdest looks from distant cousins). But it was a new site for Zoe, and as she read it she said to me, “Umm, I don’t think any of these are real facts…” And I walked over to see what she was reading, and then I laughed until I cried. Even though it wasn’t the first time I’d read it.

True story.

I totally needed the laugh, too. Because ninjas, like all mammals, sometimes just need to laugh until they cry.

(If you know any real facts about ninjas, Zoe would appreciate a comment.)

(apparently the third year’s the charm.)

So while I’ve mostly just been doing rewrites, I’ve been doing a couple other things, too. A girl’s gotta have some balance. Or so I’ve heard. So yesterday I did my first batch…

Holiday caramels, guys. And this year I’ve also ventured into the delicious land of pecan turtles. I’ve got a 10 lb block of chocolate all ready to roll, and plenty of corn syrup, sugar, and heavy cream. (Don’t tell anyone, but that’s all there is to it… well, plus lots of patience.) So if you live nearby –or maybe even not nearby — you will probably get some of these puppies at some point before Christmas. They are the cure-all for everything, I’ve found. Pregnancy nausea, arthritis, dizziness, anxiety, depression, bad knees, weak ankles, trick shoulders, tired thumbs, and excessive weight gain, just to name a few. (I may have made that last one up… but what are the holidays for, if not for stacking on the pounds?)

Put your orders in now… and if I don’t eat them all, I’ll get some to you.