Join Us For Recipe Mania Week!

Monday, November 16-20, 2009 - is Recipe Week! Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all we have, and to be thankful we are still around to enjoy it. But you and I both know that the best part of Thanksgiving are the eats! Oh yes, indeedy! So this November, we're have a fun event and calling all our readers who enjoy baking and cooking to send us your own favorite family recipes for the holidays! Please submit no more than three recipes for us to choose from and if your recipe is chosen, you'll win a nifty handcrafted, beaded book thong! Deadline to submit recipes is noon, Saturday, November 14. If you have a picture of the finished dish, that's great...but not required to enter. :-) Any photos supplied must be your own, not something pulled from the internet, and must be of the recipes you are submitting. All recipes must be sent to: midnightmooncafe @ gmail. com (no spaces). Only one book thong awarded per person if chosen. By submitting a recipe, you are giving the MMC the right to publish your recipe on our blog. Void where prohibted by law. Must be 18+ to enter. Ooh I can't wait to see what ya'll have cookin'!

Pop Quiz: What Do Your Dreams Mean

Your Dreams Are Important Your dreams seem to show that you're a bit disturbed... but nothing serious. You may have a problem you're trying to work out in your sleep. You tend to be a very productive thinker. Your dreams tend to reflect your insecurities. Your dreams indicate that you have very conflicted feelings. You have a very vivid imagination and a rich creative mind. You secretly want to hide your dreams from your waking mind. What Do Your Dreams Mean? Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Tasseomancy Workshop

Introduction to Tasseomancy: The Fine Art of Tea Leaf Reading The British tradition of high tea can be relaxing toward the end of a hectic day. It’s a time to sit back, relax, and reflect on the day’s events and share news with good friends over a cup of fragrant brew. High tea was also an opportunity some took to peer into their future. But the art of tea leaf reading, (also called tasseomancy or tasseography), didn’t begin in England or Europe. According to ancient Chinese legend, the first cup of tea was produced in 2737 B.C., when the leaves of a black tea shrub haphazardly fell into the boiling water of Emperor Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine. Gifted diviners of the leaf soon followed, through the tea producing provinces of India, eventually all the way to the great houses of Europe. In Regency and Victorian Britain, this form of divination took on popularity due to the nature of it’s commonality. While most people didn’t have access to crystal balls, everyone drank tea and had it in their house. And among the gentry (the ton), it was seen as a form of entertainment. The wealthy ladies would settle in their seats as their host introduced the diviner whose sole purpose was to read the wet leaves clumped together in each woman’s cup. Certain seers gained a reputation as some of their predictions were more accurate than others. Energy and Essence The thought behind the practice of tea leaf reading is that when you sit back with a cup of tea you are naturally put into a more relaxed state, and are more able to attune with your subconscious where the essence of our being resides. That energy comes to the fore and can be unconsciously tapped into when we sip our tea. Our individual energy comes into contact with those innocent little leaves and can produce a pattern that can be very revealing. Divining Your Cup To begin, you will need a white tea cup (since it is easier to see the patterns inside a plain cup) and a plain white tea cup saucer. A boiling kettle of water Loose leaf tea or finely chopped tea (You can open an ordinary tea bag into the cup) A notepad and pen or pencil Using one flat tablespoon of loose tea, pour one third of a cup of boiling water and allow to steep. As the hot water brews the tea, the leaves settle to the bottom. Once luke warn, take three good sips from the cup, just enough to impart your energy upon the water and the leaves. If you choose to add a dollop of milk or sugar to make the tea more palatable, that’s fine. Just don’t add honey! :-) While you sip the tea, try to relax and calm your mind, concentrating only on the cup. Drain off excess tea until only enough is left to swish the grounds at the bottom of the cup. When you swish, make sure the leaves well cover the inner surface of the cup. Upend the cup into the saucer, mouth down. The leaves that remain inside the cup are used to tell your future. Interpretation There is no true hard and fast rule to interpretation, although some of the symbols you may see are commonly found. Since everyone is different, each symbol can take on a different significance. You may see a mask and feel it is a negative symbol, while another make see it as a sign of fun...perhaps a party invitation headed your way. Your cup may also show fewer leaves, be indistinct and perhaps show no identifiable pattern at all. This can be reflective of your own inner condition. Where the leaves cling and gather is also telling. The handle of the cup represents the house or the home. Time can be foretold more or less by the position of the leaves. The closer to the brim, the more immediate the events; the nearness or distance from the “home” is judged by the position of the leaves away from the handle. Leaves at the bottom of the cup often indicate an unfortunate event or events. The area left of the handle are events that have passed or opportunities tossed away; symbols found to the right of the handle indicate present time and future. This location is usually seen as good, except if the leaves are thickly clumped. Serpentine Lines indicate roads or paths. If they appear in the clear, they are thought to be a sign of fortunate changes at hand. If the lines are surrounded by dots, they signify monetary gain and long life. At the bottom of the cup, or surrounded by clouds, they can indicate reverses of luck, both past or future. Dots signify monetary gain, but must also be interpreted by their surroundings. Circles indicate completion, while wavy lines show an unsettled situation. Straight lines show a steady course. Should you see a cross within a circle, it indicates some form of enforced restraint or restriction. Dashes generally indicate something in the planning stages, and time must be given for maturity. So what is in your cup, hmm?

Upcoming Tidbits

More naughty fun under the sea coming your way from your favorite naughty mergirl, Cass. ;-) One of the projects I am doing for NanoWriMo involves a mermaid, a pirate, and a dancing were-Bear! lol. Hope to have it finished and contracted next year. ::crosses fingers::

November Ramble

MMC's Monthly Contest for November With winter just around the corner and here in the U.S., Thanksgiving soon upon us, we decided to celebrate with a fun treat for our readers and fans. Starting Sunday, November 1 - Monday, November 30 comment on any post at our blog during the contest period, and your name will be tossed into the hat for a cool prize drawing. One comment equals one entry into the hat. So the more comments you make throughout the contest period, the more your chances to win! The prize for November is an author bookmarks and more packet, and the paperback Sunlight, Moonlight by Amanda Ashley. Contest ends midnight, November 30, 2009. Winner will be announced December 1, 2009 at the MMC blog. Good Luck! Congratulations to September's winner, J.K. Coi, who scored some nifty prizes: author bookmarks and more, a cat talisman pin, and the new book from Susan Kearney, Lucan! Must be 18+ to enter. The odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. Contest void where prohibited by law. We strive to make our prize winners happy! However, as with all our contests, it is the participant’s responsibility to check the blog to see if their name is announced as a winner, and/or to respond to winning notification emails in order to claim your prize. Any prizes that go unclaimed for 30 days after the close of a contest will be placed back into the MMC prize vault, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

Born Of Fire!

With over 19 million books in print, Sherrilyn Kenyon is renowned the world over as "the reigning queen of the paranormal genre that she pioneered long before the world had heard of Twilight." The second book from 'The League' series, 'Born of Fire', will be available November 3rd, 2009. In celebration of 'Born of Fire', St. Martin's press is holding a book sweepstakes for our readers to enter - winners receive a free copy of 'Born Of Fire'! Here is the link for the 'Born of Fire' sweepstakes offer: http://us.macmillan.com/smp/promo/bornoffire Read an Excerpt from 'Born of Fire' http://officialsanctuary.com/league_series/born_of_fire_excerpt.html Official Sherrilyn Kenyon Sites: http://www.Livetheleague.com http://www.Sherrilynkenyon.com http://www.Officialsanctuary.com Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rLOqwFUexg

Happy Halloween!

Welcome to the Midnight Moon Cafe's Annual Paranormal Trick or Treat Party! We're so glad you stopped by! Mwahhahahaa Our own ghoulish bartender is waiting for your drink orders, so step right up and name your favorite cocktail. If you are the first person to name one of the cocktails on our ghoulishly good list, you'll win a prize!* Everyone gets two chances to win. Once someone names a cocktail on our list, we cross off that drink and go to the next one on our list! Winners will be announced in the comments, so check back to see if you are a winner! ;-) *Drink Special no. 1 prize is a Green man (Herne) talisman pin and signed author bookmarks. *Drink Special no. 2 prize is a black cat and moon talisman pin and signed author bookmarks. *Drink Special no. 3 prize is a free, private past life tarot reading by Lady Cassandra. *Drink Special no. 4 prize is a free, private past life tarot reading by Lady Cassandra. *Drink Special no. 5 prize is winners choice of a free ebook by Cassandra Curtis. *Drink Special no. 6 prize is a free, private past life tarot reading by Lady Cassandra. *Drink Special no. 7 prize is the paperback Immortals, The Gathering by Jennifer Ashley. Good Luck! Oh and remember to keep scrolling down throughout the day and night as we add more content to the blog on Halloween as the party doesn't stop here! :wink: We'll also be posting to our twitter throughout the day as we rock out in Second Life, so join us there for fun and tweets!

MMC's SL Halloween Party Fun!

I want to thank everyone who stopped by the campfire ghost stories event and those who came to our Virtual Party in SL! ::smooches, ya'll:: Also a big congratulations to our SL costume party winners: Lynne Lowry (Witchy Woot Boots!) for best boots/shoes...and for Xe Parks (Skeleton mermaid) overall best costume! Ya'll rawked it, ladies! Woot!

Halloween Party With Us!

If you've ever wanted to meet us and party with us, here's your chance! Cora and I will be in Second Life today! Cora *Waverider* Zane (You'll know her by the horns, wings, and tail...hehe) Cassandra *Sharktooth* Curtis (Yep, I'm the green haired faery squatting next to Cora, but I totally rock with the wings, right? Right? lol) We start off sharing some ghoulish and ghostly fun by the campfire as Cora reads from her Weirdly anthology horror stories and I share photos and EVPs from one of the most haunted places in America, Waverly Hill Sanitarium. 10am-11am SLT (noon - 1pm Central time; 1-2pm Eastern) Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Awen/116/154/24 And after the campfire readings, join us for our Second Life Halloween After Party to be held starting at 11:00am SLT (Pacific); 1pm Central; 2pm Eastern at the... The Purple Haze Club http://slurl.com/secondlife/Odessa%20Astounding/195/33/24 Dancing, Drinks, Fun!!! We hope to see you there!