Cereal with Your Water? Yes, Please.

I'm a kook. I know this and I make no apologies for it, but yesterday I did something I've never done before...

First, let me give you a little background on myself. I'm what is called a "Super Taster". In other words, I am a VERY PICKY EATER. I hate bitter, sour and super sweet tasting foods (although I have taught myself to like vegetables. This was no easy task, let me tell you.) I hate foods most people enjoy. If you want to see me run faster than Jackie Joyner Kersee, just put a plate of mashed potatoes in front of me. (Oh, yes. I went there.) And for the record, I also hate alcohol, eggs, bananas and pretty much anything that's too sweet for its own good.

Got it?

Now. Couple that with the fact that I have a lot of food sensitivities. Milk being the number one culprit for any gastrointestinal problems I may have. It also has a tendency to cause my skin to break out and it is the sole cause of arthritis in my hands.

Still with me?

Now. Triple that with the fact that I'm somewhat of a health nut. I try to eat nutritious foods and I exercise at least 5 times a week. Watching what I eat and trying to maintain a healthy weight are vastly important to me.

Take all these things and what you've got is a person who has a limited number of choices at the supermarket. In my on-going search for a suitable beverage to enjoy my whole oat cereal with in the morning time, this is what I've encountered:

Cow's Milk - Nix. Allergic to it. And not just to the lactose so the lactose-free milk does me no good either.

Soy Milk - Nada. Well, it's soy. If you haven't heard yet, it's not very good for you. Stay away -- FAR away.

Rice Milk - Nope. NASTY AS ALL GET OUT. (Might be my super taster side making an appearance here.)

Coconut Milk - Uh-uh. Way too sweet.

Almond Milk - I love it! But for some strange reason it makes me bloated. I feel like I'm carrying an inflated balloon around in my stomach all day.

I was at the end of my rope. I love cereal, but I hate it dry so what's a woman to do?

So, yesterday I was in the kitchen and not really wanting to "cook" breakfast, I reached for the box of cereal in the cabinet. I poured a bowl. I knew I had a container or two of Almond milk in the fridge, but not really wanting to feel like the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, I paused.

Then I noticed the bottled water sitting on the refrigerator shelf. Hmm... "Should I?"

Well, fast forward five minutes and I couldn't believe what I was tasting. I thought for sure it was headed straight for the garbage disposal, but to my surprise -- I actually LIKED it. Not too sweet or thick. No bloating, acne or any other adverse affects I normally get with other drinks.

It may be too early to call right now, but I think I'm hooked. Heh. How you like dem apples?

Just goes to show you, challenging the status quo might change the way you look at life. And cereal.

Who knew?

Kindle Universe

I finally decided to join the eReader world and purchased an Amazon Kindle this weekend. It's set to arrive on Wednesday, so I'm excited and curious at the same time. I already have a list of books I want to download, so Wednesday can't come fast enough.

I'll give a brief review of what I like / dislike about it and if I believe it suits my needs at the present time. It was a tossup between getting this and Apple's iPad, but being a computer geek and self-proclaimed "gadget girl" with four computers and a blackberry already in her possession, I figured I need not invest in yet another computer. Being the bibliophile that I am, what I really wanted was just a more convenient (and less back breaking) way to lug my extensive library around.

Kindle seems to be the best choice for now. Can't wait until it arrives. I will let you all know how it goes!

-Raq

It's Here!

The day has finally arrived! Just Beneath the Surface is now available for purchase at Amira Press.

Read an Excerpt here: Excerpt

Many thanks to all my readers who give me so much love and support. I really appreciate it!

-Raq

New Book and Publisher

Hello folks,

It's been a while since I made a blog post, but I'm back with good news! I'm now an author with the publishing company, Amira Press and I have a new book to be released soon entitled, "Just Beneath the Surface". To the left is a preview of the cover.

Here's to new alliances and here's hoping to a happy and productive 2010.

I'll keep everyone updated on the release date of my book.

Be well...

-Raq

New Story at LitE

Hello again my lovelies,

Just posting a quick update letting everyone know that chapter two of "Dressed in White" will soon be posted to the LitE website. It should be up in the next couple of days or so. Also, if you haven't already, check out chapter one here: "Dressed in White Chapter One".

I've also become a member of the Shara's Corner Yahoo Web Group, so expect to see some steamy interracial stories from me in their monthly "Naughty Bites" anthology. Please join the group and keep up with some of the best up and coming interracial/multicultural erotic fiction authors here: "Shara's Corner".

In other news, I have a gay male story I'm finishing up within the next couple of weeks and I'm also shopping a book I've just finished to a few publishers. Hopefully, I should have some news on those two projects in the coming weeks. I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Please feel free to contact or message me any time. I'm really interested in knowing what kind of stories you all would like to see from me. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Be well and have a great day!

-Raq

Hello Again and Updates!

Whew! It's been a long time since I posted a new blog. Let me start by apologizing for the delay. Things have really been hectic in my neck of the woods. With the combination of work, school and writing deadlines, I've hardly had time to breathe. But I'm back and ready to get back into the swing of things!

I have a new free read called, "Room 235". It's currently under review at Literotica, but if you have a facebook account, read it before any of my lit fans do. :) Just click the link below and add me as a friend.

My Facebook Page

"Room 235" is a short story about a couple who meet for the first time in a Los Angeles hotel. They find they have an undeniable attraction toward one another and, well, - let's just say nature takes its course.

Hope you enjoy the new read. I'm also working on a couple of other short stories and a novellette hopefully to be completed soon.

Thanks for sticking in there with me! Hope to hear from you all soon!

-Raq

New ID and Story on Literotica

Hey everyone!

Just writing a quick note to let you all know that I've created a new ID on Literotica called Raquel_Mulgrew. Just so you know, after "The Trip" is complete, I will not be adding anymore stories under my StolenTurtle ID. All additional stories will be posted under Raquel_Mulgrew, although I will not be getting rid of StolenTurtle and all the stories currently posted under that ID will remain there.

Something else to be said about this new ID, it will be all encompassing. By that, I mean that I will pretty much be posting stories in most genres, Romance, Gay, Lesbian, Erotic Couplings, Mature as well as Interracial Love...I write the whole gamut of erotic tales. I try to be as inclusive as I can so that I can represent as many sensibilities in my writing as I can. Yeah...pretty much how I am in real life.

That being said, I have a new story under Raquel_Mulgrew called "The Promise" if you'd like to check it out...

The Promise

Thanks for reading everyone!

-Raquel