Spaghetti Sauce and Muffins

Posted in Food, General by

We’re only a few days into February (not November, which I had started to type), and I’ve made spaghetti sauce and chocolate chip pumpkin muffins!  I’m already halfway to my food goals for the month, which is amazing.  I’ve learned that my kitchen doesn’t have the best lighting for pictures, even in broad daylight, but it’s something I’ll have to work with.

Spaghetti Sauce

I obviously didn’t do the best job pouring it into the container, but that’s okay.  This is seriously the best spaghetti sauce I’ve ever had in my life.  I actually like my spaghetti sauce really simple (and that’s when I eat it).  I’m not the biggest fan of any kind of sauce with my spaghetti.  I tend to like my spaghetti with just parmesan cheese.  But I thought I’d try making spaghetti sauce, and this recipe jumped out at me because of it’s simplicity- tomatoes, butter, and onions.  And the onions don’t even stay in the sauce, although I suppose you could chop them up and throw them back into the pot. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’ve made pumpkin muffins before, but never with chocolate chips!  I think next time, I’m not going to put in so many chocolate chips, because the 1 cup that the recipe called for overwhelmed the flavor of the pumpkin.  The pumpkin was frozen, since I meant to use it for something else, and never did.  I had taken it out a couple days ago, and much to my dismay, the pumpkin was still slighty frozen.  It was just as well that there were a lot of chocolate chips, to balance out the watery-ness of the pumpkin.  You couldn’t tell that the pumpkin wasn’t completely thawed, which may or may not have been due to the chocolate chips.  But they are something I’d make again.

A Wrinkle In Time

Posted in Books by

Title: A Wrinkle In Time

Author: Madeleine L’Engle

Pages: 190

What I Thought: There is a reason why this book ended up on my top 24 book list, and it’s because this is a great book!  Even though I can’t remember the last time I read it, it was a book I loved reading when I was younger.  It was a quick read, but I did split it up over a few days because of another book that I’m currently reading. 

For me, it had the perfect amount of adventure and mystery.  However, I did notice that there were several references to biblical verses, which didn’t bother me, since it didn’t come across as preachy or anything.  It did fit in with the book really well, since the main focus was about trying to get Meg Murray’s dad off Camazotz, and later, trying to get Charles Wallace (Meg’s brother) away from IT.  Meg needed to remember that love was what she needed in oder to save Charles Wallace from IT. 

There were so many characters that I loved- Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Which, the Happy Medium and Aunt Beast.  I liked Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin as well, but not as much as the Mrs. W’s, the Happy Medium and Aunt Beast.  I found Meg to be a pretty believable and sympathetic character, but there wasn’t really anything that made her very memorable.  It was the same with both Calvin and Charles Wallace.  I was creeped out that Charles Wallace (as a 5-year-old) was able to read his mother and sister so well, and was fairly mature for his age. 

The Mrs. W’s were definitely protective, and on this reread, it was obvious that they were angelic beings…supernatural guardians…whatever you want to call it.  Plus, I liked that they were stars who died.   

I did like the quotes that were scattered throughout the book, courtesy of Mrs. Who (who found talking hard).  And the quotes, much like the references to biblical verses, fit very well with the plot.       

Rating: On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.  While not completely and totally amazing, it was still an amazing book.

How I Came Up With Character Profiles

Posted in Look After You by

I have to say that this is probably my 2nd favorite novel.  I can’t remember now where I came up with the idea for the plot, but it’s stuck with me.  I’m only on page 17 (of 139) but there isn’t anything too weird.  At least, not yet.  The thing that I’ve noticed is that there are major inconsistencies, and several things that are seriously incorrect.  This one could’ve benefitted from a questions/plot holes/possible conflicts list, much like the one I did with Turning Point.   

I do love the random punctuation that’s appeared, plus some of the randomness.  I distinctly remember a good two pages on the easy button from staples.  I haven’t gotten that far yet, so I have no idea why I thought that was necessary.  Then again, it was a NaNo and most of what I write isn’t necessary.  The brain works in very mysterious ways, especially when you write two novels in 30 days. 

It was my 1st time doing character profiles, and I never used them, but it did set the stage for all character profiles I’ll be doing every NaNo.  I was bored one day, and just started writing random facts about Lindsay, the main character.  It’s amazing what being bored will do.  And I have to admit that knowing random trivia about my characters has been really helpful, even if I don’t use it during November.  It helps me get inside their head, and it makes them more real, like they’re living, breathing people.

It definitely needs a lot of work, though.  I need to work out the plot details, because a lot of it doesn’t match up with the little I know about the witness protection program.  And I definitely wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do with it, so that would explain the inconsistencies.  Some of them anyway, because I’ve learned that with NaNo, there’s always going to be inconsistencies.

Shampoo!

Posted in Writing Prompts by

Writing Prompt: Do we really need more than fifty kinds of shampoo?

No.  Seriously, it’s really overwhelming when I have to buy shampoo, lotion, bodywash, hair spray, or…pretty much anything.  The options are really overwhelming, and how hard is it to have just a few options? 

Of course, I only wash my hair about 3 or 4 times a week, so I don’t use that much shampoo.  I have settled on a good shampoo, that I actually love, so I’m set on shampoo.  The thing with my hair is that it’s curly, and I honestly don’t need to wash it that often.  Actually, I can usually get away with washing it just 2 or 3 times a week, if nothing’s going on. 

But still, there’s shampoo for everything- curly hair, straight hair, thin hair, brown hair, blonde hair…whatever’s going on with your hair, there’s probably a shampoo for it.  In fact, I think it would be safe to bet that there’s a whole line of products made just for your hair!

And the dizzying array of options extend to lotion, body wash, soap, toothpaste, and any beauty product that’s currently out there.  It’s frustrating, because all I want is some moisturizing lotion with no scent in it!  I don’t want scented whatever lotion that’ll make me look young (because I am young, and I really don’t need to look any younger), I just want some plain old lotion.  Is that too much too ask for? 

It does make me glad that I have my favorites, because it means I no longer have to spend 10 minutes trying to figure out which product to buy.  But I do have to pick up something for my grandma every once in a while, and I will admit to just picking something for her, mostly because…trying to decide on something is too annoying.

Crafts

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I think I first started to get into crafts about a year ago, but I’ve really been itching to do some crafts in about October or November.

I think I’ve mentioned before how my grandma used to crafts, and how I wished I had learned them from her when I had the chance.  And I believe I’ve mentioned the possibility of actually doing crafts this year, instead of just looking for crafts and thinking about how I should try that.

There are so many cute things out there that I just need to make!  The main problem is that I don’t have enough room to actually store all the supplies I’d need, since every project has few supplies in common.  It would definitely take some thinking and some planning in order to make room for the things I’d need.

Plus, it’d be a good skill to have.  Like, I really need to learn how to hem up my pants.  I’m short, and most pants tend to be really long on me, so being able to hem them up so I don’t trip on them would be a good thing.  I’m klutzy enough, and I don’t really need to make it any worse.  But being able to sew (and be somewhat crafty) would definitely be good because I’d be able to hem up pants and sew on buttons, and that kind of thing.

I’ll post pictures of any crafts I do.  Should be fun!

Reba

Posted in Music by

I love her, I really do.  She’s not only one of my favorite singers overall, but also my favorite country singer ever!

I remember listening to her a lot when I was little.  Sadly, I don’t listen to her very much anymore, but I will once in a while.  I’ve only seen a few episodes of her tv show (before it was cancelled a few years ago), but she’s a pretty good actress too, which is impressive.

She has so many good songs, it’s really hard to pick which ones are my favorites.  Little Rock, You Lie, Fancy, For My Broken Heart, The Night The Lights When Out In Georgia, The Heart Won’t Lie, and Does He Love You are only a few of my favorite songs.  What’s interesting to note is that most of my favorite songs are from 1990 to 1996. 

Also hard to pick are my favorite albums.  I’d have to say that Rumor Has It, For My Broken Heart, It’s Your Call, Read My Mind, and Starting Over are all tied for my favorites.  Seriously, I can’t pick which one I like best. 

I think a lot of the problem in trying to pick favorite songs and albums of Reba’s is that she has such a long career.  25 studio albums, 91 singles, and 40 #1 singles, 33 of which were in the U.S, starting with her first album back in 1977.  Which is about 9 years before I was even born! 

It’s definitely inspiring, and even if I never publish, I hope her music continues to inspires me.  Plus, she’s multi-talented, and that’s pretty inspiring too.

Resolution Update!

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I thought today I’d talk about how my resolutions are going. 

  • going to the gym/doing any sort of exercise isn’t going well.  I’ve gone to the gym a handful of times, and it’s always when I’ve been out and about doing stuff.  It’s a lot harder when I’m sitting at home doing nothing. 
  • Volunteering: this is going terribly.  I haven’t decided on a 2nd place, and I have yet to make it down to the library.  Although I did volunteer at the food bank a few days ago, so it hasn’t been a complete loss.
  • grad school: this is going to be on a hold for a while, just because I’m trying to figure out what I want to do.  Volunteering will help me decide, but as I haven’t really done anything with that the decision is going to have to wait a while.
  • baking and cooking something new once a month: this is going very well, but I have a lot of things I want to make, so this one isn’t worrying me.
  • Read/reread a book every month: I’ve only reread one book, and I’m attempting to read a few other for the 1st time (which isn’t going to well).  However, I still have today and tomorrow to read a new book, so I think I should have it covered.
  • most of what I’m writing is my daily blog post, although I have managed to write an 4600 for Turning Point in the last couple months.  I have written a few journal entries too. 
  • I haven’t done too much planning for anything else, other then what I’ve posted here. 
  • And I haven’t done any editing/revising yet.  I’m trying to decide if I should finish working on Turning Point first, and then go back and start editing, or if I should do it as I go along.  I’m leaning more towards waiting until I think I’m done writing, because I don’t want to cut stuff out and then have to put it back in.  Plus, I don’t want any revisions or edits to get in the way of actually trying to finish the thing.

A Letter To My Muse

Posted in Turning Point by

Dear Muse:

What is going on in that head of yours?  I fail to understand why Kiora should be with Kyle.  I could have sworn we had decided that it would be Kiora and Dustin, who is closer to her age than Kyle.  Yes, we never settled on how old Kyle is, but we did decide that he is older than Dustin.  And Kyle’s married with a 10-year-old daughter!  How exactly do you propose they get together, besides divorce?  Kyle doesn’t strike me as the get-a-divorce type of guy, unless something tragic happens to his wife.  And furthermore, how do you propose we fix Kiora’s thing with Dustin?  I most certainly do not want to kill him off, and I am really starting to like them together, even if they can’t date.  Well, not yet anyway.  I suppose they could, but I have no idea how they’d manage it. 

While you’re figuring all this out, O Wise One, could you figure out what’s going on with Sienna, Luna, and Holly?  Like what happened between her and that secret service agent?  And why did Luna end up in a psych ward?  Could you explain to me why Holly thinks Kiora would be a good addition to her little group and what she wanted Kiora to edit?  Because these things are very confusing, and I’d like an explanation if at all possible. 

I do commend you on staying away from that ever-so-frightening inner editor, because she’s very scary!  It takes someone very special to ignore her, and you have done a fantastic job ignoring her.  I’d appreciate it if you could keep that up, because she is your enemy.

Thanks!

Is There A Cliff I Can Jump Off?

Posted in Other Projects by

The whole time I read Stab My Back, I felt like jumping off a cliff.  I’ve never read something so funny in my life.  While I expected that it would be bad, I never expected it to be so hilariously bad.  I kid you not, I couldn’t stop laughing, especially for the 1st half of it.  I figured out what I wanted to do with it, and where I wanted it to go after about 25k.  I’m still not completely sure what it’s about, but what I’ve managed to figure out, it’s about this girl betrayed by her friends and family, and she has to lead the magical world to…something.  So here’s a sample of what I found:

  • adttingrer picking them up.  (and once you do that, Izzie, can put the pieces together after picking them up?) 
  • I would look fairly unrecognizable, rather unlike myself.  (that would be the point of disguising yourself, yes?)
  • So, I aslked for an paplicatrion (You asked for what?)
  • I hated not knowing things- and when I did know things, I only knew aprts of things, and not the whole thing, so the pieces of things I did know did not make sense uintil after theyt happened.  Unless I happened to know the whole thing, which was not very often (can I go jump off that cliff now?)
  • a pink and white swirl of light swirled around us.   (Swirling colors swirl?  You’re kidding me.)
  • This was all so confusing.  And I hated being confused, because being confused meant that things were confuising.  (Yes, I’d like to speak to the manager of the department of redundancy department manager.)

And believe me, there’s more where that came from.  I seriously felt the need to bang my head against the wall.  Because this is what happens when 1- you write 100,000 words in one month, especially for the 1st time, and 2- when you start a new novel a few days in, with no idea of what I’m writing about.  I may have to try it again sometime, just to see what would happen.

Sometimes, I Wonder What I Was Thinking

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Right now, I’m in this “I’m going to re-read all my NaNo novels” phase.  Which is fine with me, because usually I only read them once, at the beginning of December, and then I’m done with it.

I did re-read my 2006 novel a few months ago, and it was really interesting to compare it to Turning Point.  My writing has definitely improved over the last  years, and if I were to compare all of my novels (9 total!), especially in the order they were written, I’d definitely be able to see the change in my writing over time.  NaNo is the only time I write anything, although I’m *attempting* to change that this year.

Anyway, sometimes I look at what I’ve written, and there’s a lot I don’t remember writing.  A lot of times too, I wonder what I was thinking. 

I bring you Exhibit A, which is one of my NaNo’s from 2008 (titled Stab My Back).  As you might remember from my very first post, I started it a few days into November, with no plot.  It’s such a trainwreck, and pretty much the 1st 36 pages are based off of different songs.  It’s hilarious though.  So far, there haven’t been too many hilarious spelling errors or anything like that (mostly because of that darned inner editor), but even still, having no clue what I’m writing makes for hilarious writing.  I’ll definitely post anything funny on another day. 

But seriously, this novel has been one big…what on earth was I thinking moment.  It’s a wonder my grandma doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with me, because I’ve been trying hard to not  laugh.  The tv is on slightly louder than normal, and we’re in different rooms, so there’s a chance she didn’t hear me laughing hysterically.  While going in with no clue is interesting, it’s doubtful I’ll ever do it again.  I might, just to see what’ll happen. 

The one thing I love about NaNo is that it tests my ability to just write, and let everything go.  When you write 100,000 words in a month, you tend to let go, and just focus on the writing.  It’s more about quantity than it is about quality.  One of the things that’s popped into my head the last couple weeks is that I write 100k- but I never said anything about them about good words. 

And with the focus on quantity (not quality) it’s no wonder that when I go back and read anything I’ve done during NaNo, I wonder what I was thinking.