My advertorial appearing in the November Bon Appetite magazine (page 118 to be exact). It’s about biking and dining on Hilton Head Island, SC.

“Make him stop Mom! He took the lollipops and licked them both! He took mine!” I exclaimed, stomping out the room.

Another ‘fight’ among siblings, echoing many that took place in my childhood home between my brother and me. My younger brother and I were at constant battle for several years arguing over every thing from who got to watch what on television to who broke all of mother’s fancy beeswax candles. Funny thing was that on more than one occasion, even when I was most assuredly in the right, the episode ended with me bawling my eyes out over my brother receiving his stinging punishment.

Like a tiny Sybil I would go from telling my brother to “stop it!” and pleading for my parent’s intervention only to get it…and then cry even louder as my brother was marched out to choose his own punishment from the infamous “switches bush”. At the time I remember thinking, “Why am I crying?” and to this day I have no idea, but obviously it still sticks in my mind. I was relieved to no longer be “picked on” but curiously, not happy that my brother was being punished, either.

So when I was told that an advertorial I was writing as the Hilton Head Island Foodie Vibe Blog (one of my paying gigs) was going to be in Bon Appétit magazine, I was, needless to say, thrilled. I’ve been a BA fan for many years and to get my name in print in this, a national food magazine; it’s a big deal… I think.

But, and here’s where my “Sybil” personality steps in. Do I tell people? I mean my southbyse.com followers and fellow bloggers? My Facebook friends? Will I seem like a braggart? After all, it’s an advertorial, not an editorial, so is it really anything to be that excited about? Yes, I wrote the advertorial. Yes, I’ve enjoyed eating at the restaurants I mention. Yes, that is my name in print.

Maybe I care too much about what others think of me or question if I can live up to anything positive that (I hope) people think about my writing and my blog projects. Like Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you”, so I’ve got that taken care of for today, apparently.

But yes! I will be excited and try not to be scared of the critics out there in cyberspace. And while I did not break any of my mother’s candles and the switches bush has long been pruned away, I still argue with my brother – over which kind of cranberry sauce is better with Thanksgiving turkey or the correct temperature for smoking a pork butt.

Let’s just say the blogger in BON APPETITE wins – for now at least!

PS. In this issue there is also an excellent article on preparing a Thanksgiving turkey, including my preferred method – brining.  If you’d like to ‘practice’ this method before your big turkey day fête, try my tea brined chicken recipe.