The Hobby-Go-Round

Goodreads: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey

2011-09-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Second review:
It's four years from the first time I read this book and I realize that if you're going to read a Chuck P. book, you really need to read it, absorb it, experience it. I was only into it with half my attention the first time and missed a lot, including some key plot points.

This time, it took me awhile to finish it because I'm only reading intermittently these days, but I made a point to focus when I did read it. This time around, it gets 5 stars all the way.

Buster Casey, aka, Rant is an exceptional but dangerous boy growing up in a small town with his mother, a woman who puts sharp metal objects in her food to make people eat slowly and enjoy it, and his father, who cryptically insinuates that he's not actually Rant's father and seems to know more about Rant's future than seems possible.

Rant also shows some strange abilities, like the power to tell what someone had for dinner two nights prior simply by smelling them (okay, it's a little more graphic than that, but you'll have to read the book to find that out). He also shows an affinity for being bit by poisonous and rabid animals.

When Rant moves to the city, what starts out as a story about a quaint small town and its black sheep turns into something completely different: a tale that takes place in an alternate universe where society is split into those who live during the day and those who live at night and people boost sensory experiences through ports in the back of their neck.

In the city, Rant meets up with a crew of "Party Crashers." Party Crashing is the favorite pasttime of Nighttimers and involves decorating cars and playing a large organized game of road tag with other teams. It's these fellow crashers, childhood friends and neighbors, family, and the people Rant has come in contact with or made an impression on that all tell his story in oral biography format.

It's hard to read this story as a coherent beginning to end novel because it's not. It's more like a documentary in which several anecdotes come together to tell a story and eventually end in an unforeseen climax. The characters speak in different voices, yet all voices are definitely Palahniuk's and characteristic of the voice used in his other novels. The pacing is quick, the factoids are fun, and the ending doesn't disappoint.

Reading this book again kicks off one of my Day Zero things to do, and that's to read all of this author's books again. I recommend this to anyone looking for something they can sink their mind into.

First review:
It actually took me a little while to get into this book. I'm a fan of Palahniuk but this one seemed a little slow to me. Told not by the main character but by those who knew him before his death, this truly is an "oral biography." The point of view constantly switches but once you get the hang of it, it's a fun way to read.

Like many of his books, this one takes bizarre to a whole new level. It's hard to really talk about anything that happens for fear of giving something away. To sum up, Rant lives in a world where rabies runs rampant, the new high is an experience "boost" through ports in the back of people's necks, and the big recreation game is Party Crashing, which involves complex tag games with cars.

Once I got into it, I couldn't put this book down. The premise is great, the writing is great, and the end...like all of his books I've read so far...is mind blowing.

View all my reviews

Working to the Limit

2011-08-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Two minutes ago, I logged off of what became a 15 hour work day. There were a few breaks in there. I ate dinner, left the office, and exercised, but where my day job is concerned, my eyes have been glued to a computer screen for about 15 hours.

My brain is fried.

I don't consider myself a workaholic, but I do like to work. I like having a job, I like having the 8 to 5 stability, and I like getting things done. Right now I'm in overtime mode, which means I also like the extra money the work brings in, especially dealing with Jon going back to school and some recent doctor bills that were not covered by my Cafeteria plan (the year I lower it is the year I actually use it...go figure).

I sometimes straddle that fine line between a good employee and burn out waiting to happen. Right now, I have to admit that I'm not even thinking in terms of being a good employee. I'm not trying to cause trouble or anything like that, but there's alot of stress going down right now, and I'm feeling a little hurt about some recent decisions that were made around me.

Mostly what's driving me is this need to get things done. We implemented a new system and there's loads of work and it never seems to go down because we constantly have more coming in. Yet I feel like if I work hard enough and quick enough I can get it to a manageable level. Then I'll feel awesome.

What I need to try to remember is that even if I can do it (and really, it's going to take a lot of overtime and some miracles), I need to do it to satisfy myself, not anyone else. Because it's doubtful anyone will pay attention and because I don't want to be that person. I don't want to be the person who does everything for a pat on the back and who constantly tries to win the approval of others.

I just want to be the person who does her job well, accomplishes something everyday, and can just be happy with the little things. And of course, brings home a little extra in the paycheck.

I just kind of hope I figure out my limit before I really burn out.

The Second Time Around

2011-08-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

I started a post a few days ago, one that was filled with excitement and optimism and the promise of pictures from GenCon. I saved it, never finished it, and am now sitting in a hotel room on the last night of GenCon with a completely different mood from a few days ago. It's not necessarily a bad mood. It's contemplative and a little bit disappointed.

GenCon, the second time around, didn't live up to what it had been in my mind for the past year.

It wasn't horrible. The fun times were really fun. I got to spend time with friends, and I got to see old friends I hadn't seen in years. I got a chance to see how far I've come with my ability to walk. It wasn't as far as I wanted, but it was definitely an improvement from three months ago. I made alternate player in a gaming tournament (even though our team didn't advance) due to some crazy rapper skills I didn't think I had. I got to try out some new games and Jon even won a game for us to take home.

This year's con, though, had a distinctively different feel than last year's. From the start, we had problems with misinformation from the hotel we stayed at, so money ended up being a factor. While staying downtown seemed like a great idea (and part of it was), I missed the frugality and lack of stress of the cheaper hotel room outside of the downtown limits.

GenCon itself should have been easier to move around due to the expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. But there were places I never even saw, and the walk to get from point A to point B was longer. The movie and panel options were less than thrilling. The dealer room was definitely improved and actually gave me three great hours, but True Dungeon...an event that I thought was fun last year...was disappointing and annoying.

Another disappointment? The people. Last year we talked to so many people. Everyone was friendly, everyone wanted to chat. People would say hi to you and strike up a conversation anywhere. This year was definitely lacking. Don't get me wrong, there were some good people. We talked to a guy in the Will Call line who was nice, and conversation made the time go by quickly. During the first couple days we were in Indy, Jon and I walked around the convention center and several people said hi. But once the con started, there seemed to be a general coolness that I didn't remember from last year. In some instances, people were downright rude.

I'm fully aware that all of this could have been simply my own perception based on my own moods. Admittedly, the issues at the beginning of the week had me down and a little worried. My levels of frustration were high when I thought I should be able to walk further than I could and had to sit down or avoid certain situations because I was in pain. I felt bitter and let down, and it's likely I projected some of that into my overall experience.

However, the con gets some blame too, because I'm not the only one who felt this way. Others I talked to were disappointed in True Dungeon. Several people complained about general rudeness, and people who heard me praise GenCon to no end seemed to be disappointed in their first experience. While I know my adverse moods can effect those in my immediate vicinity, I'm not taking credit for everyone's disappointment.

Will I go to GenCon again? Probably. I feel that it needs another chance, a tie breaker to decide if this year was a fluke or if things are going downhill. I only have one year and a bunch of testimonials from our friends as a basis for comparison. I don't want to give up on it because there are some good times to be had here.

Next year I hope to be in better shape and better able to do more events. I'm hoping that by making some more frugal choices we can splurge on some things we haven't yet been able to do. Do I regret coming this year? Not at all. I still have some good stories and new memories and quality time with friends is never something I regret.

But I will be happy to get back to the real world.

Suzuki: The New Cool Hangout

2011-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, Jon and I went to Wichita to get the car serviced before Travel Season 2011 in the Felber household. We had a good experience with Suzuki when buying our car and I felt comfortable taking it back to them for the oil change.

I'm not some weirdo who likes to hang out at car dealerships. In fact, I know some people who go when they're having free food days with no intention of buying anything, and I'm not even into that. But I like going to this one. I trust them to do the work right, they're all friendly, and the environment is really comfortable.

The recliners are comfortable, they have two TVs, they have an XBox 360 with Kinect, and they have several tables and chairs for people to sit at. Around the corner, they have fountain soda and snacks and real food. The day this was taken was hot dogs and hamburgers, so for the price of a full service oil change, we also got free lunch.

Of course, getting heckled by the Suzuki shark was a little unsettling, as was appearing in the video on their website a few hours later, but if I ignore the fact that I hate being on camera, it was actually kind of funny. I even reposted on my FB for the heck of it.

It's not every day I can say I look forward to getting an oil change in my car, but now it gives us a chance to go visit family and chill out somewhere strangely fun.

Getting Older, Changing Moods

2011-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

*After finally getting a chance to revisit this blog after a few weeks, I found that this post, which I wrote before going to Michigan, never posted. So I'm posting it now. Some of what I wrote may or may not have more meaning now that my Michigan trip has come to an end, but I think there are some good things in this blog.

If you’re still with me after my recent hiatus, thank you! Things got a little hairy, I got a little lazy, and I decided I just needed to take a step back, give myself some down time, and focus on getting a few big projects out of the way before I could get back into my smaller projects.

While some things have been taken care of, life is still moving at a full stride. Big projects are still afoot, tapering off just enough to give me some time to do other things. Travel season for Jon and I is here. As of the time I’m writing this, we’re only a few hours away from heading out on the open road to Michigan to visit family and friends for a week. I’m excited, but I’m also nervous. It’s good to see family, but people change, even loved ones, and there’s no guarantee that we’re going to “click” and get along like we may have in the past.

Then again, there’s always the chance we may get along better, too, which is what I’m ultimately hoping for.

I feel like I’ve gotten older and grumpier and more apathetic, and while I go through “let’s do this” phases, most of the time I’d rather just hang out and chill. I’m not one to put forth a lot of effort into group activities. I’ve become more selfish, which isn’t a huge stretch since I’ve always been a bit self centered. I still play the passive aggressive card but my aggression has moments where it completely overshadows the passive side. I’m quick to judge and I’m quick to write people off who tweak me even a little bit from the start.

I’ve become arrogant, yet I hate arrogance in others. I love being the one who “knows” things, but I find it irritating when others go out of their way to spout off the things they know. I make mistakes and that’s okay, but when I have to fix someone else’s mistakes I feel the need to throw things.

When you break it down into these components, I sound like a horrible person, and yet I like myself more today than I did 10 years ago. I have a sense of self that I think continues to grow and change with age. I’m proud of my accomplishments, happy with the freedom I currently have in my life, and gladly loyal to those I consider true friends. Sure, I cry a lot, I’m not eating as healthy as I should be and some days my moodiness alienates people, but it’s all a part of who I am. Fighting against that won’t help, so I’ve learned to roll with it.

And contrary to what it sounds like, I do think I have some pretty good karma going, at least in some areas. So with this coming weekend, I will remember that not only have I changed, but so has my family and while we have memories of how things “used to be,” time makes it impossible for those things to stay that way.

Hopefully we can all roll with it and have a good time.

A Little Bit of This and That

2011-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Life is running at kind a kind of weird neutral right now. I have a lot to do, but it's been difficult with trying to keep with work stuff, going to the gym, and getting ready for our summer trips. I've been working on some research for a couple of projects as well and I kind of feel like I'm sort of at a standstill.

Besides the mundane things happening, there's nothing very topical to blog about. At least nothing that wouldn't enrage people, and I'm not feeling like enraging the masses at the moment. So just to keep up with the blog stuff, here's some random stuff happening in my world.

1. I love my gym. Having 24 Hour Access is great. In related news, my progress is slow but I am making progress. Note to those who don't know my current philosophy, I'm not making weight loss the focus of working out this time, since every time I do that, I just get frustrated and give up and gain back double what I lost. Instead, I'm just trying to get in better shape and just feel better overall. Compared to what my speed with walking was a month ago, I've definitely kicked it up a notch.

2. My writing hobby has drifted off but hasn't really been replaced by anything due to work and some research I've been doing for some smaller projects. I read a little bit here and there, haven't knitted in a long time, and use work time to watch TV. I'm currently watching "My So-Called Life" on Netflix. "True Blood" also started again, so I'll be keeping up with that as well.

3. I've been craving fruit like nobody's business and I haven't really wanted to eat anything cooked in about a week, or at least nothing cooked at home. I know we need to do some grocery shopping, but I haven't even wanted to eat hot foods. Last weekend, Jon and I were all about pizza hummus and pretzel bread. I think I could live off that for a week before getting sick of it.

4. My chiropractor turned out to be a God send. I credit part of my ability to move better to the gym, but a huge chunk of it goes to the doctor and his magic thumping gun. When I first started, I was going in twice a week, and now I'm down to once every two weeks. It wasn't necessarily a magic cure all, but it was just what I needed to get me moving again.

5. Last but not least, I'll be heading for Michigan in two weeks to spend much needed time with family and friends. I'll try to find something good to post and schedule, but I promise nothing. However, I'll hopefully have a lot of pictures of the great north to share when I get back. I'm really looking forward to it and it'll be fun to take the new car on her first road trip.

Joining the Festivities

2011-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've been to an actual festival, so it was nice getting to go to one a few weeks back with Sophia, who posted a couple days ago here about her 2-mile walk. Though I'm working on my health issues and trying to get to where I can walk, I wasn't in shape to join her and I won't lie...it wasn't easy getting around the festival grounds. However, the rests I had to take gave me a chance to take in everything, and I was able to get a few pictures of some of the art that represented the focus of the Smoky Hills River Festival.

Art, exhibits, booths, festival food, and entertainment were everywhere, and families and groups of friends wandered around enjoying seeing everything. The first thing we saw going into the festival was a bike exhibit, pictures, and decorated trees. None of the pictures of the trees came out well, unfortunately.

My favorites were the giant spiders, a display we got to see while heading to one of the tents to listen to Bill Harley, an amazing storyteller who was holding a workshop at the festival.

While I enjoyed what I did get to see, I'm a little bummed about all the things I didn't get to see. But I won't dwell on it. This gives me another reason to continue working out and getting into better shape. Next year I hope to be able to spend a full day there, not only joining the fun walk, but wandering around and enjoying all the sights, sounds, and smells.

Who knows? Maybe I'll even stay and dance during the evening entertainment.

Guest Post: Walk This Way

2011-06-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sophia took over for another blog post because she's awesome. We recently went to the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina where she completed a 2 mile walk. She's been an awesome workout partner and has inspired me to try for next year.

The annual Smoky Hill River Fest has a component called the Festival Fitness Five. This is composed of
a five-mile and two-mile race, a two-mile “just for fun” walk and children’s races. This year I completed
the two-mile walk.

The walk started at 8:15am, just as the sun decided to make its presence known. I stepped into the
cluster of people a few minutes before the start of the walk. I couldn’t push my way into the back of the
crowd so I stood just a few bodies from the front of the pack hoping I wouldn’t fall behind too quickly.

I realize that the walk was non-competitive but that did nothing to quell the voice in my head telling
me to make sure that I finished in a reasonable amount of time. I had signed up earlier that week on
a bit of a whim, and had no idea what my pace would be or what a reasonable expectation was. The
starter went off and I headed out trying to pace myself at a rate I thought I could maintain. It wasn’t
long before I realized that the walk catered to all types of folks. There were the lean and sinewy old
men who had no body fat to slow them down. There were couples and families with strollers. There
was a group of particularly loud women who felt this was their opportunity to discuss personal stories at
a high volume.

We moved out of the park and into the streets of Salina fairly quickly. A few of the older men passed
me quickly followed by a stroller. And the person pushing the stroller. By the end of the first mile I
realized that I might have done better to sign up for the two-mile run. When I use the treadmill I have
my own mix of walking/running/jogging that I do. I used to think I started the running when I got bored
with the walking. Turns out that I start running when my shins start aching. And believe me, they were
aching. I have a feeling I would have hurt less if I’d run the whole way, plus the time would have gone
by faster. Sometimes I have trouble relaxing in the midst of activities. I tend to focus on the goal and
when the goal is relaxation I do great doing nothing. However, I’d registered to cover two miles of
distance on a Saturday morning and I had to fight the voice inside telling me that breaking into a jog
would accomplish that more quickly. But I had signed on to walk and so I stuck it out.

It was a good thing; it forced my brain to accept that I was not going to get to the finish line any more
quickly. Once that realization sunk in it became about observing the town around me as we passed
through and making conversation with the walker beside me. I will admit that when we were passed
by a stroller feet from the finish line I felt just a bit disheartened, but that spurred me on so there was
no slacking at the end. They read my time as I hit the finish and it was just over 28 minutes. A pace
of 4mph for someone with short legs is not too shabby. I am definitely glad for the experience. It has
encouraged me to focus my training and attempt a legitimate, competitive run in the next year.

Why Would Anyone Watch That?

2011-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Note: Yes, this is publishing on a Saturday instead of a Friday because I looked at a calendar that didn't follow the standard Sunday through Saturday pattern. Okay, it's a crummy excuse, but it's all I got. I only realized it today when this didn't post. Anyway...enjoy on a Saturday, I guess.

"Why would anyone watch that?"

I see this question all the time in articles about certain movies. The statement itself is fairly judgmental, inferring that anyone who DOES want to watch whatever movie is being talked about is a complete psycho, weirdo, or worse. That's not the point of this blog, though. I find these comments funny and it takes more than that to offend me.

Because I AM the kind of person who would watch "that" movie.

I love weird, horrific, and disturbing movies.Even if I don't like a movie after I've seen it, there's a good chance that if the rest of the world doesn't want to see it, than I will. If someone tells me "You don't want to see that," than I will find a way to watch that film.

Let's take The Human Centipede, for example. If you haven't heard of it, please click the link with caution. The synopsis alone makes people say "What?" I'd never actually recommend this movie to anyone. Besides the fact that it's so close to reality and all (snark), I understand that not everyone can handle that kind of content. For me, the appeal was in upping my threshold for gore tolerance and being able to joke about it after I watched it.

I have joked about THC to no end. Most people still won't watch it. However, my constant commentary did earn me a couple fellow viewers, and the second time I watched it, I realized that there's humor to the movie. You just have to be able to think twisted enough to see it.

Let me beat you to the punch with the "ew" comments and sum it all up: "How can anyone think like that??"

I can, and I'm not going to apologize for it. I grew up in a household where scary movies were the norm. I was reading Stephen King and Dean Koontz sometime near early junior high. I grew up knowing what was right and wrong. "Silence of the Lambs" was one of my favorite movies as a kid, but I did understand that cannibalism and murder was wrong. I'm a little dark, but I'm not insane.

I think of it as extreme movie watching. In fact, I've seen a movie that I consider worse than THC. Now there's news of what the second Human Centipede movie is going to be about, and there's a good chance it might take the top of the my "messed up movie" list.

Will I see it? Probably. Will I like it? Judging by the descriptions I've read, probably not. It may or may not beat out #1 on the list. I don't know. The point is that strange, bizarre, grotesque, and scary movies don't send me over any edge. I get a little disturbed. The images stay with me for a day or so, and then I move on.

Besides, I often follow one up with a Care Bears movie or a Disney classic, so that's got to count for something.

Goodreads: The DUFF

2011-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

1. I read this book a few weeks ago and just didn't get around to writing a review of it. Then I read some other reviews, and while I don't usually let other people's opinions sway me, I felt like I needed to rethink my original opinion. In the end, I decided to stick with my original one and love the hell out of this book.

2. I realize there are some issues with this book. Some of it's a matter of reality. Some of it's a matter of "What the heck is the main character doing?" I'm going to talk about it in this review, but I've decided not to analyze it too much and take it for what it was...a fun book.

Minor spoilers ahead.

Bianca Piper knows she doesn't look as good as her two carefree best friends, but her snarky wit keeps her from focusing on her self consciousness. Until Wesley Rush, local rich boy and high school jerk, brings to her attention that she's the DUFF - the Designated Ugly Fat Friend that guys will attempt to befriend in order to get with their much hotter friends.

Not only does this weigh on Bianca's mind and self-esteem, but she's also dealing with an absent mother, a pending parental divorce, and an alcoholic father. So when Wesley turns out to be a distraction, Bianca starts an affair with him to run away from her problems. In the process, she learns that she's not the only one with problems and that she's not the only one who's ever felt like the DUFF.

I love Bianca's sense of snark and humor and I related to many of the things she went through. Not that I got my groove on with someone I hated in high school or otherwise, but I do know it's easy to do things you might not do otherwise just to forget the things that life is throwing at you.

I can see where the whole Bianca/Wesley thing would irritate some people...who jumps the very person they hate? You'd be surprised what stress can do to you, and while I would normally say to stay away from those types of elements, I think in this case, it added to the development of the characters.

I thought this book was well written and cute, and the author's voice resonated with me. I'm hoping to read more by them and I do recommend DUFF if you can suspend a little bit of reality and just enjoy the story for what it is.

View all my reviews

Blogging and Exhibitionism Revisited

2011-06-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

My first article on Associated Content, talked about how blogging had become a form of exhibitionism and how reading blogs and online journals showed a touch of voyeurism in those of us who read these things. This was back in 2006.

The other day I was updating my Twitter and my Facebook and reading blog posts on my Google Reader and realized that we’ve come even further with online exhibitionism. It’s no longer just about blogging…now it’s about letting it all hang loose.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing, at least not in all instances. As much as I complain about Facebook, it’s let me keep in touch with friends and family. It’s also given me a chance to help out others. Recently I participated in a drive to help a friend and co-worker fund a project for her community through Pepsi Refresh Everything. I was also able to write an article and help the spread the word about the brewery my friends in Copper Harbor, MI are opening. In both cases, by posting status messages, I was able to drum up interest and help the causes.

Twitter is used for much the same thing, but rather than staying in touch with old friends, it’s given me the chance to meet and follow cool new people. Terry Border is an artist who shows it work on his blog, Bent Objects. I found him on Twitter. His work is amazing, but I might never have heard of him if he wasn’t out there Tweeting his links.

Technically, these things are more about promotion, but isn’t promotion a form of exhibitionism? Every time I post a link to one of my articles, I’m saying “Please read this! Please make me feel important and comment and tell me how awesome I am!” I would never say this out loud, but it’s what’s implied when I put myself out there for the world to see.

Then there are the random Tweets and status updates that have nothing to do with anything, but for some reason, we feel like sharing them. For whatever reason, I feel it’s important to let the world know what I’m eating, what I’m watching, and what I’m doing. Sites like GetGlue.com and any site that allows you to automatically send updates to Twitter or Facebook make this easier than ever. In fact, some days I realize that I’ve spammed my friends on both sites with the updates I’ve made elsewhere.

As an online exhibitionist, I have an overinflated sense of self that I think everyone has to an extent. We believe that someone out there cares what we do. We believe that maybe we’ll help someone or make someone laugh or just make someone happy because we decided to mention the hot dogs we had for dinner. What makes the internet great is that I and others like me don’t have to deal with anyone calling shenanigans on our egos. Because it's so commonplace, few people are going to call us out, and even if they do, every site has a "Block" feature which may be used as liberally as needed.

Or we just call them trolls. The internet is full of them.

If I've put this in a negative light, I don't mean to. I'm actually pretty happy with where we are with social networking and technology. I like sharing and keeping up with others and using what they do as inspiration for finding new things to do and read and see. It feels exciting to me, not overwhelming.

Besides, we may be exhibitionists but we're also voyeurs, and technology has given us a safer outlet for both tendencies.

To Focus or Not to Focus

2011-06-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to a "successful" blog, the collective "they" say that focus (or a main theme) is one of the most important aspects. It makes things streamlined and helps others find you. If you write mainly about knitting, people searching for knitting blogs will find you, and your chances of cultivating a blog following are greater.

I have no focus. It's not for lack of trying. I used to have three or four different blogs, each one dedicated to a different aspect of life: living frugally (which is hit and miss for me), cooking and baking (about the same), and knitting and writing. After trying to do that for awhile, I decided it was just easier to put them all in one main space.

Essentially, that eradicated any focus this blog would have ever had on a consistent basis.

There are times I regret this. There are times I wish I could just find a topic and stick with it. But I'm not sure if I could continue to blog if that was the case. I get bored easily. As it is, I haven't exactly kept the posts on this page strictly to "hobbies." I tend to go off on tangents and ramble about things that don't actually mean anything to most people.

I've fallen into the habit of making myself the center of the universe and believing that someone out there might care what I think.

I like to think that The Hobby-Go-Round gives me the chance to connect with friends and family and maybe a few random readers who I don't know but would like to get to know better. I often get comments on Facebook and I sometimes get comments here (which I'm not always good about responding to...and I realize this could alienate people...and I'm sorry I kind of suck at that aspect).

It also gives me the chance to keep a record of life in general. No site on the internet is foolproof. This site could crash at any time and take with it all of these posts and all my thoughts and pictures (pictures are backed up, though). It's a chance I take. I had a regular journal that I wrote in for a couple years. A dog got ahold of it and there went all those "written" memories too, so nothing is guaranteed.

Let's not forget the fact that it gives me the chance to write. Which I love to do, even if I can't write a full blog dedicated to just writing.

I don't anticipate much is going to change with this blog. It'll continue to be as random as I am and it will continue to jump topics and hobbies the way my mind does. What won't change though is the gratitude I have towards my friends and readers who continue to "read" my droning on about anything I can think to drone on about on a regular basis.

You guys are my enablers, and I love you for it.

Guest Post: The Classics

2011-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today's blog post comes thank to my friend Sophia, an awesome person, fellow geek, and full time genius who doesn't have her own blog but has agreed to write some posts for mine. 'Cause that's how she rolls.

When we’re growing the idea that our family norms and idiosyncrasies aren’t matched by those of other
families doesn’t cross the mind frequently. I am sure I was aware of this at some level before the age of
10, but that’s the first time I can recall it hitting home as an actual realization. I had invited some new
friends over for a slumber party filled with the typical pizza, board games and movies. And I had the
movies all picked out, some of my favorites, The Yellow Submarine, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. I
decided to start with the classic film about alien invasion and before the opening credits had passed one
of the girls asked, “Is this a black and white movie?” Well, yeah. And that was the end of that. Until
that moment I don’t think it had occurred to me that everyone’s family didn’t gather around the TV and
pop in a video cassette of something made prior to 1970.

Keep in mind this was in the days before being retro was cool. Maybe it was cool for people like John
Cusack, but not for pre-teens in the Colorado suburbs. It was just weird. And I suppose I might have
taken that realization and decided that social acceptance was more important than that moment in To
Kill a Mockingbird when Scout is trapped in her ham costume. But hanging out with the girls talking
about Jonathan Taylor Thomas never filled me with the same thrill as the shot where we see Boo Radley
behind the bedroom door. And so I kept going. It was no longer just the movies Dad brought home
that I started watching. I went to the video store and picked out movie after movie. Thank goodness
for a video store with a healthy selection of classics. The Thin Man, The Philadelphia Story, The Maltese
Falcon. And the more I watched the more I enjoyed the newer movies we’d see in theaters. The more I
realized that just as a good book is timeless so is a good movie. I also learned that just because a movie
is old it doesn’t make it good. I’m looking at you The Conqueror.

I think any reader realizes that books have power; a good book can change your life and affect your
understanding of the world and your place in it. Movies have similar power. The magic of movies,
though, involves the massive amount of collaboration required to make them happen. And how so
much of that magic is pure accident. Would Casablanca look the same if there had been fewer writers?
The experience of watching movies, at least as I had it growing up, added to their power. In those days
we didn’t have cell phones and going to the theater was a treat. Movies seen on the big screen are epic
simply by the method of delivery. The lights dim, the screen beckons and you allow yourself to be taken
away from reality. Like passengers on board a flight, you share this experience with strangers and leave
with a common bond.

In our house, not always the most easygoing place, movie time was where we came together as a unit.
The lights were off, every person was in their designated spot in the family room, the popcorn was out
of the microwave and the Hot Tamales were distributed equally. Mom had her Sno-Caps and was in no
danger of losing them. Dad would have to parcel out some of his beloved Twizzlers to us girls and we
would pop in the video. I remember going to friend’s house where a movie was put in. There was no
change in atmosphere or attitude. People came and went and talked and yelled and not a single person
seemed to be paying attention to the movie. What was wrong with these people? Didn’t they know
the proper demeanor for movie watching? In our house I had the honor of cueing up the film. I got to
decide if we were sitting through previews or jumping right into the film. When I was in charge of the
remote there were no delays and no snow allowed.

This was supposed to be about my love of classic movies but it turned into a mini autobiography. Sorry
about that.

People wonder why I love old movies, but I don’t think I do. I just love movies. I love the romance of
movies. The idea that you can take a train across Russia with Yuri and Tanya in Doctor Zhivago. You
can roll your eyes along with Princess Leia at a short stormtrooper and you can imagine that someday
you may be as witty as Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. It’s hard for me to distinguish
between the appeal of The Mark of Zorro (1920) and the appeal of The Departed (2006). They are both
absorbing to watch.

I also think that this perspective helps keep me from turning into a movie snob. The type of person who
insists on calling it cinema and looks down on people who have never seen anything by Truffaut and
refuses to watch anything that might be construed as a blockbuster. To me, movies are about stories.
Some stories are deeply meaningful and have something to say about humanity, life, etc. (The Seventh
Seal, Joe vs. the Volcano) and others are meant to entertain and allow us to escape (The Thief of Bagdad,
Pirates of the Caribbean). These and everything in between have value and you should watch and enjoy
what you want. I know I can act shocked when someone hasn’t seen the original Ocean’s 11 or Star
Wars: a New Hope but that’s primarily because movies help me make sense of the world and it’s hard
for me to understand how other people can go through their day without having a film library in their
head to fall back on. Although seriously, there might be something wrong with you if you haven’t seen
the original Star Wars trilogy. You should go watch it.

Controversial Literature

2011-06-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love it when the subject of what is and isn't appropriate in books comes up. There was an article recently published online at the Wall Street Journal that talked about how graphic young adult literature has become, and how parents can't find anything "light" for their teenagers to read (well, one parent in particular, but I feel like the inference was meant to be widespread).

This article did two things for me. First, it gave me several more books to add to my "must-read" list. Second, it affirmed that if I ever have/adopt/find/steal a child, I'm going to encourage him or her to read every single banned or controversial book known to man. I won't push it on the kid, but I will say, "See this book? People think it's too graphic...I bet it's awesome...do you want to read it together?!"

Before I get on my soapbox, I will tell you (if by some chance you didn't already know) that I don't have kids. Which for some people would make my argument completely invalid. But for me, it's not a matter of what I would or would not do for my kids, it's the point behind anything that tries to shield the younger generation from certain harsh realities of the world.

Kids, teenagers, young adults...they're all stronger than we give them credit for and they deal with a lot of things that parents and older adults tend to turn a blind eye from. They know or are people who cut themselves. They know or are people who've been raped or molested. Many of them are having conversations with their peers and reading things in magazines that would likely make mom or dad's head explode. I don't have kids, but I remember being one. Luckily, my mom encouraged me to read Stephen King and R rated films weren't taboo in our household.

As for people who worry that these books are going to cause kids/teens/adults to act out or be inspired to do harmful or illegal things, let's face it...they're going to do it if they want to do it. Reading about it can often give them insight they might not have had or help them to realize they're not alone when dealing with things like depression. Like the crazies who mimic violence in movie or video games, anyone who's going to imitate something dangerous from something they've read has a loose cog somewhere that was there long before the book was published.

I take a "no holds barred" stance in writing and reading and I hate censorship, but I understand that not everyone shares my views. So while I'll respect an individual's right to (try to) restrict what their children read, I'll also be the first to say on that on the larger scale, this literature needs to be written and not taken away from the many readers who will gain something from it.

Besides, making something taboo is just going to make people want to read it more, so maybe in this case, WSJ has the right idea.

Chiropractors and Me

2011-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

I don't like chiropractors. In fact, they scare me. I don't look down on them or anything, especially because I know they help alot of people, but I'm personally not a chiropractor girl.

I visited one in college to help me with some back issues. Every once in awhile, my back would pull and would hurt for about 3 days. One time the pain was so bad I broke down and visited one. Two appointments and three MONTHS later, I was still in pain. I got it into my head that I was never going to visit another one.

Once again, I'm dealing with some back issues. These ones have been ongoing for about a year now. Part of it is weight and part of it is a nerve that seems to have gotten lodged all up in my business. The hope was that exercising would help, and it actually has. I'm building strength and endurance and I'm moving better...some days. My back, though, is a constant source of discomfort, and it's getting frustrating.

My co-worker recommended her chiropractor today. I wasn't buying it at first. Sure, I'm in pain now, but better the pain I know than the pain that could be ten times worse. But once I started paying attention to her, I actually started thinking about it. The doctor is part of an alternative health group that uses a different method of realignment that involves a weird tool that looks like a gun or a drill. I got some of the details but I'm still a little hazy as to how it actually works.

Hazy or not, I went ahead and made an appointment. I know it contradicts my anti-chiropractor thing, but at this point, I'm willing to try something new. While a regular adjustment is never going to be acceptable, something akin to a massage might be helpful. I'm hoping that not only will a couple treatments have me feeling better but maybe it'll also help with my workouts.

This has also started me thinking of other natural or alternative pain remedies, including acupuncture or heat massage. If anyone out there has any suggestions, please let me know. In the meantime, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that this whole being "thumped" in the back thing doesn't make things worse.

I Lapsed!

2011-06-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

What I get for bragging about keeping up with a blog is that I then fail to schedule the next round of posts. So let's just consider today a "break."

Heck, let's figure Friday to be a "break" too, just in case I don't get to it. Right now I'm trying to keep up with day job work, writing, editing, gym time, and getting ready for an apartment inspection. I have some things to blog about, so at least I have something on deck.

Stay tuned for your regular scheduled blog...probably on Monday but maybe I'll surprise you with a Friday post.

Beer!

2011-06-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

I did an article for AC on Brickside Brewery recently, but I thought it deserved a mention on here too. Since this is a personal blog, I can take it from a little more personal angle.

People who know me know I'm really bad with keeping in touch with friends. It's nothing personal, I'm just sort of selfish like that. I tend to get wrapped up in my life and let past relationships fade. Thanks to Facebook, I can now keep up with friends from the past, even if it's just with a comment or a "Like" here and there. While I tend to complain about Facebook, it really is good for staying in the loop about what people are up to.

Jason and Jessica were friends of mine from college. Jessica was one of my sorority sisters, and we lived together for a summer (along with some other friends and sisters). I think the first time I met Jason was during an outside smoke at some event at the Cisler Center, and though I have alot of memories about Jessica, I always remember she was the first person to ever get me to try gaming (I was fail in that first attempt and had no idea what was going on).

When I found out they were opening a brewery, I was really excited! They live in Copper Harbor, MI, way up in the UP with their family. Kudos to them anyway for living that far up north, but they both seem to love it there. The winters kicked my tail, but they seem right at home. Unfortunately, this means I have no idea when I'll get up there to try their stuff, but it's definitely a goal.

I also wonder if I can talk them into sending me some brew through the mail. Beer of the month club, maybe??

Please check out the article and interview linked above and visit their Facebook and Kickstarter pages. I'm excited to see how this venture is going to turn out for them and I'm sending them all my best wishes!

Finding Balance

2011-06-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I struggle with balance, and not just the kind that would allow me to stand one one foot without falling on my face. I have a really hard time leveling out all the areas of my life at one time. When I'm doing well financially, it means I'm sitting in a chair focusing all my attention on writing, budget balancing, and reading frugal living blogs. The minute I start exercising, I end up completely forgetting I have a checkbook and start focusing on ways to stay motivated.

The same can be said of my hobbies. I'm an all or nothing sort of girl, so knitting holds no interest when I'm really into a good book (or several good books). Likewise, if I'm feeling the writing bug hardcore, I tend to avoid reading. When I'm intent on finishing a video game, I completely forget there's an outside world, and when I got on a knitting marathon I end up with sore, swollen fingers.

I want to learn how to keep things even so I don't burn out and I can keep busy with a range of different things rather than just one or two really intense interests. For instance, a month ago I was all about writing. Now? I haven't written an article in days. However, there is hope. The fact that I'm actively writing and scheduling posts for this blog attests to the fact that I'm at least trying to balance things out. And I have article ideas...I just have to start writing them.

I managed to maintain a good balance over my long weekend. I finished two books. I did some ChaCha. I finished a bunch of overtime. I played a video game (Naughty Bear...didn't like it). I watched a lot of TV but during that time I managed to patch up some clothes and catch up on some internet stuff. I made it to the gym and spent time with friends. While I didn't do much writing or knitting, I still feel like I accomplished something.

What's the secret to balance? If anyone has any thoughts, I'd like to hear them.

Let's Talk Insomnia

2011-06-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

I try not to complain too much in this blog, but I consider tonight a special occasion. Move along if you'd rather avoid my whining today.

As I write this, I'm currently experiencing one of the main drawbacks of a long weekend/semi-vacation: insomnia. I know it's my own fault. The experts say you're supposed to maintain your sleep schedule even during time off from work. But as great as that sounds NOW, I really enjoyed sleeping in this past long weekend.

To every indulgence, there is a consequence, and this one has me awake at one in the morning the night before I have to go back to work. Worse, work starts a half hour early for me now due to summer hours. Sure, I'll be getting done an hour early, but without sleep, that hour is going to take forever to get here.

Sleep is fickle. As I sit here typing, my eyes feel heavy, but I know what's going to happen. I'll go lay down and be wide awake. I tried reading. In fact, I tried reading a story I thought I would find so boring it would lull me to sleep. I shake my fist at Jules Verne for being so engaging ("Around the World in 80 Days" is something I never had the urge to read, but now I can't wait to finish it).

What makes it really difficult is the heat. Being a basement apartment, our place is usually very cool, but for some reason it seems like all the heat in Manhattan has sunk into our lower level. The air conditioning is doing nothing for us even though it was "serviced" by our rental management maintenance guys last week, and none of our windows open. We have the front door propped open, and while we can hear the wind going crazy outside, we're not getting much of a breeze.

It was like this last night too, but it was easier to ignore since I didn't have to get up for work the next morning. I'm going to regret not taking a shower tonight, but I didn't figure there was any point since I know I'm going to wake up sweaty and in need of another one tomorrow.

Basically, I'm overheated, tired, and miserable. Summer has always been my favorite season. I hate the cold. However, I'm thinking the heat of summer and I are going to stop seeing eye to eye if this keeps up. Maybe it's a sign of age, but these temps are kicking my butt.

Guess I'd better go count some more sheep. I've got about one thousand already rounded up...let's so how many more it takes.

Goodreads: When Beauty Tamed the Beast

2011-05-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another great re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, this one with an added pop culture twist. I was in need of something fluffy and romantic, and "When Beauty Tamed the Beast" hit the spot.

Linnet is a beauty who's reputation is tarnished by a rumor and who's family is tarnished by an adulterous mother. When society believes her to be pregnant, she is taken by a Duke to marry is son, a not-so-pleasant "Beast" of a doctor who walks with a cane and can't forgive his father for his past addiction.

I think we know where this one is headed.

What author Eloisa James did well was to take the story and add some great dialogue and stunning scenes to turn it into a great romance novel. The pop culture twist...if you didn't catch on...is that the Beast is stylized after Dr. House from the show "House M.D." If you didn't catch that, don't feel bad. Admittedly, I didn't realize it until I read the author's notes. Then again, I don't watch the show, so maybe that's okay.

I really enjoyed this book, but it did have a minor annoyance for me and that was that some of the scenes seemed to drag on forever. For the most part the story as a whole didn't drag. But there were several scenes I thought lasted a little too long and gave information that wasn't really needed, especially because it wasn't important at any point in the rest of the story.

If you're looking to satisfy the sweet spot that only a good romance can touch...and/or you like fairy tale retellings...I highly recommend this one.

View all my reviews

The Freedom in Saying “Nevermind”

2011-05-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

I recently posted on being rejected. At the time, it didn’t occur to me that there could be a chance of me ever being the rejecter. That opportunity came a few days later.

When I say I was the rejecter, I wasn’t really rejecting anything. What I was actually doing was changing my mind about something I thought I wanted to do.

I found an opportunity on a writing forum. It sounded like fun and something I could easily fit into my writing schedule, so I applied. I applied for two different topic positions, thinking I had a good chance at one and a not so great chance at the other. A few days later, I got the rejection email for the one I thought I had a chance at. No big deal. I’d just wrapped up the rejection post and figured I wouldn’t get the other one either.

Turns out, the people doing the accepting had a different idea because I got my welcome letter the next day. I went to the page to read the training tools and the welcome information and was quickly hit with the nasty feeling of dread. It wasn’t that the rules were hard to follow, nor was it anything different than what I’m already doing. It was partially the fact that even though I applied for it, I really had no idea what to write on the topics they were giving me. It was mostly that they wanted me to commit to 10 to 20 articles a month.

I’m somewhat of a writing commitment-phobe. I like to do it in my own time with no pressure (unless I’m putting it on myself). Short term commitment is fine. I’m okay with claiming assignments as long as I know that I can release them back into the wild if I need to. But considering I’m writing for two other platforms, trying to maintain at least 2 blogs, and working 40 hours a week, there was no way I was going to be able to kick out that many articles for this site, not if I still wanted some downtime now and again.

So I did what I probably wouldn’t have done in the past: I declined the position. It feels weird to decline a position I applied for in the first place, but it shouldn’t, right? People do that in the job world all the time if something doesn’t feel right them. Writing shouldn’t be any different.

Plus, I have a feeling they would have told me to take a hike after the first month when I fell way short of their expectations.

The feeling of relief I had after sending that email was huge, and I realized that most of what stresses me out is stuff that I take on when I really could have just said “no” and not worried about it. In this case, I can continue to write for the platforms I enjoy writing for, I can keep my blogs, and I can still have time to watch Doctor Who and knit a scarf every now and again.

“No” is a good word. “Nevermind” works just as well.

A Word on “Regretsy”

2011-05-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

A Word on “Regretsy”

Right next to the hot button topics of politics and religion sits the topic of Regretsy. If you’re not already familiar, Regretsy posts the less desirable items found on Etsy. They also call out people who blatantly steal from others and Etsy itself for turning a blind eye to this sort of practice.

Regretsy tends to be mean spirited. It’s also hilarious, snarky, and blunt. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it sucks to have something you’ve done or said made fun of by hundreds of people. But there are a few points I’d like to make about Regretsy and the internet in general.

1. We’ve had the internet long enough to know what goes on there. Identities get stolen. People get trolled. Rickrolls come and go. If you put something on the internet, you are automatically opening yourself up to ridicule and meanness. Some of the things I’ve written have gotten nasty comments, not just about the writing but about me as an individual. It stung, but I hitched up my big girl pants and got over it. If you don’t want people to be mean to you, lurk quietly in the cyberspace shadows.

2. I understand that art is subjective, but sometimes bad crafting is just bad crafting. Sure, you made something, you put your “heart and soul” into it, blah blah blah. I remember a time when just putting time into something wasn’t good enough. You had to actually produce something that was aesthetically pleasing, functional, or high quality. Now it seems that as long as you do something, anything, you expect someone to tell you how great you are. I call shenanigans and Regretsy does too (they just do it louder). Not everyone is a special snowflake just because they exist.

3. Hideous or not, stuff that appears on Regretsy sells. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve clicked the link (because they do link to the original sellers work…yay page hits!) only to find that the item sold. One person actually wrote to Regretsy and complained that they suddenly had more buyers. Really! So yeah, someone called your stuff ‘crap’, but obviously someone else thought it was great because they paid you money for it. I’m not sure what the problem here is, other than someone got their feelings hurt (re: big girl pants…pull ‘em up). I opened an Etsy store for some of my knitted items and actually thought about putting one of my really bad projects up there on the off chance Regretsy would give me some air time.

4. What about the good things Regretsy does? They have a section called “April’s Army” which helps people who are having a hard time. They’ve auctioned things for charity. They’ve also developed rapport with people who were good sports about being featured and helped them sell even more stuff. Just because I enjoy following Regretsy doesn’t mean I always agree with their assessment. There have been a couple things that they’ve completely ripped on that I thought were adorable, and I was happy to see they sold before I even got a chance to go to the page.

Regretsy isn’t for everyone. People have the right to defend their work, but I think there’s also something to be said for a good sense of humor. So roll with it, people. Or don’t follow the blog. But getting angry and crazy about the stuff they post isn’t really going to help anyone, and it’s just going to make you a bigger target.

And please, please, please…just ignore the comments.

Minimizing

2011-05-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

In several areas of my life, I’ve been purging all sorts of extraneous things.

My apartment has recently undergone a huge purge. We’ve gotten rid of pieces of furniture that were just taking up space. After one of our snakes went to that big snake pit in the sky, we found someone to buy the massive extra tank we had sitting around. We boxed up books and clothes and knick knacks and all sorts of things and sold them at a garage sale.

I go between two extremes. Sometimes I really like being surrounded by stuff. I like the coziness of it. Other times, I hate stuff. I want only the bare necessities: Nothing on the walls, only one or two pieces of furniture - nothing extra that I have to maintain.

Right now I’m somewhere in between. Now that we’ve gotten rid of so much, there’s room to move in our house. I don’t mind having people over again, and I’m looking forward to Christmas because I have room for a tree and places I can decorate. It’s easier to pick things up and keep them clean and I feel more organized on a regular basis.

I’ve even hung some things on the wall, a fact that thrilled my mom when I told her (she hates bare walls).

This need to purge clutter has moved into other areas of my life. I’ve pared down my Google Reader to make it more manageable. You’d think that this wouldn’t be something I would worry about, but it was driving me nuts. After pulling out most of the things I was following, I felt so much better. Sure, I got rid of some of the funnier sites I enjoyed, but I obviously wasn’t enjoying them that much if there 150 unread posts for them. I also parted ways with a couple celebrities I was following and even gave up on some recipe and knitting pattern blogs.

I’m also slowly but surely getting rid of extra things on my computer. I have a ton of old files that are just taking up space, including music I really don’t like, eBooks I probably won’t read (I got a little crazy with the “free” options), and programs that I thought would be cool and then never used. Some stuff is being moved to the external hard drive. Others are just getting booted, especially because at some point, I want to purge extra stuff from the external as well.

Clearing out clutter is therapeutic once you actually do it. It took me forever to just break down and start moving. To tell the truth, the only thing that made me really do it was 1) the garage sale prospect and 2) the impending re-inspection of our apartment. Now that it’s done, I feel so much better. We still have things to do, closets to clean out, and some organization still pending, but minimizing the stuff we had was definitely a good first step to feeling less stressed at home.

Goodreads: Grundish and Askew

2011-05-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

NOTE: I was asked by the author of this book to do a review and was happy to do it. It always makes me feel more important than I really am when I get these sort of opportunities. I say it all in the review below, but this book was AWESOME! If you want to check it out for yourself, go buy it here on Amazon. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Grundish and Askew by Lance Carbuncle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If George and Lenny lived in a trailer park, drank beer, had few ambitions and a violent streak, they’d be Grundish and Askew. This is the second book by the good Dr. Reverend Lance Carbuncle, but the first one I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I’m looking forward to satiating myself on more raunchy, cult inspiring awesomeness.

Grundish and Askew are soul mates and hetero life partners who haven’t been dealt the best hand but are determined to make the most of what they have. Askew is determined to break the generational cycle of prison bound men in his family while Grundish, after serving his time, just wants to stay out of jail. But when a frozen hot dog prank in their trailer park goes awry, the two men have to flee, taking their one-lunged senior citizen aunt with them.

The characters in “Grundish and Askew” are great. The two main characters are raw and disgusting, yet I found myself rooting for them. Turleen, the one-lunged aunt, is well developed as a secondary character and one of my favorites, especially during her interactions with two dogs that show up in her hallucinatory dreams. Minor characters add spice and plot and Carbuncle weaves them into the story with either great skill or lots of luck (I’m going to say the former).

“Grundish and Askew” isn’t for the faint of heart or virgin-minded. There’s sex, violence, gore, bodily functions and some disturbing scenery along the way. But it’s a fun, wild ride that’s well written and one I highly recommend.

View all my reviews

Gym Commitment

2011-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

For what feels like the millionth time, I've once again joined a gym.

A new 24 hour fitness center recently opened here in Manhattan, KS, and the company I work for made a corporate agreement with them to offer employees a discount. Even with current financial issues, I did a quick check of our budget and found a little wiggle room to join, mostly based on my extra writing income.

I don't do well with self motivation. I know I could walk or dance around my house or do any number of things to get in shape, but if I'm not paying for it, I won't do it. For me, home represents relaxation, and as much as I would like to walk (and will start doing more of it), at the moment I can't make it very far. A gym offers options that will help get me in shape without killing me in the first ten minutes.

Plus, I can exercise without feeling like an idiot, which is generally how I feel if I try to workout in my apartment. Even if no one is watching, I feel self conscious.

This isn't my first gym membership, and I'm sure it won't be my last. I've had an on and off again relationship with gyms since college, when I used the little exercise room in the lower half of the Walker Cisler Center.

The most recent gym was the one owned by the hospital system. They sold it, and so I find myself where I am now. I'd like to say I'm going to stick with it, and I probably will for awhile. I may even stick with it for good this time. Realistically, there's a good chance I'll get lazy again, but it seems like I manage to go longer each time with less down time between commitments.

While my long term gym use seems less than enthusiastic, I'm actually really excited about this. It's another start, another chance to get in shape, and another chance to start feeling good again.

This time, I'm in it to feel better. I'm in it to build my endurance so I can spend a day walking around without wanting to collapse. I'm in it to have confidence, to ease anxiety, and just to feel better.

Everything else can happen in its own time.

iTunes Musical Journey: Starting Line

2011-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to a lot of music lately. Unlike my multi-tasking husband, I can't write and watch TV at the same time, but I hate complete silence. My iTunes has really been getting a workout lately. I usually shuffle. Sometimes I pick a good song and then "Genius" it, a method which has yielded some amazing results and shown me gems I didn't even know I had in my 7007 song collection.

I decided to take a little journey through my iTunes list. Instead of ordering it, I did an album sort (A-Z) and am listening to everything in order. There have been a few so far I've been able to purge, random songs that found their way in without my original okay. I'm not very far, hence the "Starting Line" of the title. I have almost 20 days worth of music and that's assuming I was to listen to music 24/7.

My hope in doing this? I'd like to have all my music rated. I'd like to get rid of things I really don't like. With the exception of a few artists, I'm less interested in keeping full albums and more interested in making sure my iTunes is loaded with things I enjoy.

In conjunction with this journey, I'm using the albums I listen to as article fodder for AC. Because who can't use some extra topics to write about?

The rules: Listen to music in order and let every song play all the way through. Even the sad ones. Even if they make me cry.

This is going to be a long trip.

The Upside of Rejection

2011-05-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Rejection sucks.

Even if the rejection is specific to one area of life, it gives me a feeling of overall unworthiness. I've cried over rejection in the past. I've also brushed it off outwardly and then went to drown my sorrows in a cigarette (back in my smoking days), alcohol (back in my drinking days) or food (I still eat, but I've avoided major binges for quite awhile now).

It's not possible to be a writer and avoid rejection. Well known and well published authors are rejected. Stephen King hung his rejection letters on his wall and almost gave up writing when he couldn't publish his first novel. Very few people are charmed enough to lay the golden egg of manuscripts each and every time they attempt it, and even small rejections can be painful.

Most of my submissions to Associated Content over the past few years have been accepted, but a several have been rejected for upfront payment, and a couple have been outright deemed unworthy for publication. It stings to know that something you thought it was good didn't make the cut. It's not easy to hear your work wasn't good enough ("I'm never writing again" mini tantrums have happened, though I'm ashamed to admit it).

I've grown a thicker skin and I've even learned to find the upside of rejection. Articles that don't make the cut with AC give me something to send to a different platform or give me a blog post I didn't already have. Rejections of larger projects generally come with feedback to help me improve my writing. You can't get rejected if you don't try something new and put yourself out there, so I've managed to even take pride in some of my rejections.

Most recently, I applied to be a movie writer for a gaming site. During the application process, I was really excited about applying and really wanted the job. I didn't get it. The rejection was very nice...the writing was good, they were just looking for someone with more experience. I had a moment of disappointment, but I avoided the whole "I'm not good enough to be a writer" scenario. To be honest, I felt relief, realizing only in hindsight that I may have taken on a little more than I could handle.

That's not to say I won't keep trying. It's in my nature to overschedule and deal with the consequences later. But I've managed to change my thinking to look at the brightside of the word "no."

Heck, someday I might even frame my rejection letters and hang them on my wall.

BzzzCampaign: Cover Girl NatureLuxe Foundation and Lip Balm

2011-05-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Many of you already know this since I’ve posted on Facebook and Twitter with the info, but as a BzzAgent I am currently part of a campaign to try out CoverGirl’s new NatureLuxe line of foundation and lip balm.

I’m not a makeup expert. Most mornings I’m too lazy to put it on. I decided to give this one a try, because even if I don’t put it on every morning, I do have the occasion where makeup is suitable. In the past, I’ve been less than thrilled by heavy foundations that leave a cake like appearance and less thrilled with lipsticks that make me look like a candidate for the clown department with the circus.

The NatureLuxe foundation is probably the best foundation I’ve ever tried, and that includes product from a high priced manufacturer. Instead of the thicker emollient used in traditional foundations, this one uses cucumber water, natural jojoba, and rosehip extracts. It goes on smooth and feels light. Though it evens out my complexion, it doesn’t cake on like ones I’ve used in the past. Plus, I can touch my face or cup my chin without coming away with foundation “ick” on my hands and fingers.

The NatureLuxe Gloss Balm is also a good product that goes on smooth and gives a touch of color while softening lips. The balm is made with natural butters, including mango and shea. It’s not sticky, and it has a staying power that a lot of balms don’t. Because the color is light, I feel like I can reapply it several times without getting that over applied lipstick look.

The foundation comes in 14 shades and has an SPF of 10. It retails for around 11.99. The gloss balm comes in 16 shades, has an SPF of 15, and retails for around 6.49.

If anyone tries or has tried this, let me know what you think! If you’re not a BzzAgent, let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have if you’re interested.

WINNING!!!

2011-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finished Script Frenzy this year!

There was a scary moment of doubt where I didn't think I was going to, a moment brought about by video game addiction, day job overtime, and general laziness. However, with the assistance of an extra day off courtesy of my birthday, and the help of my husband, who took the video game controller from me before I hurt myself, I finished it this afternoon....33 hours before the end of the event.

To back up, if you're not sure what Script Frenzy is, I wrote this article before the month started. It's the spring counterpart of National Novel Writing Month. Last year I attempted...and failed...both events. Having finished this one, I'm optimistic about this year's novel.

I went for romantic comedy, though it took awhile for the comedy to find its way into the story, and I still can't guarantee anyone else will find it funny. It's a typical cute, chick flick script. It's not well written, but that's the point of the event. Revision will hopefully polish it up. The plot: Not-so-nice "higher up" at a big business corporation loses a file for a business proposal that could get her a promotion to company promotion. IT guy happens to be walking by and agrees to help her find the file if she "dates" him for a undetermined amount of time. Though she doesn't want to, she worries that he'll ruin her job with his technological know-how, so she agrees.

There's nothing surprising happening here, folks, and I'm okay with that. You can already tell what's going to happen by the synopsis. I'd like to think the journey would make for a fun story, though. I've incorporated the following into the plot: my main female has a taste for serial killer trivia, my characters play DnD, and the two leads travel to Sault Ste. Marie for a wedding.

Even though I hit the 100 page mark and am close to being done with the initial writing, I still don't have the ending done. I'll have to make this a project and line it up alongside my other writing and revising projects. I think I'm going to need to set up a specific month to personally work on all my revisions. June? July? September comes with a built in 4 day weekend and no foreseeable travels.

Accomplishments are awesome, especially when I can now put something to rest...temporarily...and focus on some other things that need a writer's attention.

Shameless Self Promotion (5/9)

2011-05-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since it's been awhile since I've done this, I thought I'd go ahead and post some articles I've done in the past few months. This is also a little bit of a cop out as I'm trying to get caught up on writing goals, overtime work, and getting the apartment ready for an inspection, so I guess this is just filler? Still...never hurts to throw some stuff out there.

In the Spirit of Being Reunited - I don't have the knack for poetry that others have, but AC was holding a sonnet contest for National Poetry month. Though I don't anticipate winning, I had fun writing this. I haven't been to any reunions, but this is sort of how I imagine one might go.

Netflix TV Series Consolidation - Netflix recently put many of their television series into single show files instead of individual ones for each season. While it cuts down on the number of items in a queue, it does have its downside too.

My Top 10 Favorite Summer Movie Releases - I took an AC assignment and recapped several of my favorite movies. The title says it all. I've been called out on a couple of my choices, but for whatever reason, I stand behind them all.

Two Years Down

2011-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I turned 32. The year I turned 30, I made a list of 100 things to do by the time I was 40. Two years in, and I'm happy to say I've actually done some of the things on my list. The point was that I wanted my 30s to be great. My 20s were okay, but I believe that we get better as we get older, and I wanted to continue to do things. Lots of things...varied things.

Even though I've only crossed off a few things on the list, I've also done all kinds of other things that I never even comprehended. I never anticipated going to a Lords of Acid concert or being a Passion Party consultant. I couldn't have anticipated the friends I'd have or the things I'd experience. Even if I don't reach my 100 items goal, I'm going for quality over quantity.

To recap, this is what I've crossed off my list so far (in no particular order):

1. Walk the Relay for Life - This was one of the first things I did. Unfortunately, we didn't make the whole night due to a Kansas thunderstorm, but heading up the group was a good experience and I'm glad I did it.

2. Get married - It was kind of a no-brainer, but we hadn't yet made plans when I made the list. I have no complaints. I'm a lucky lucky woman.

3. Knit or crochet a hat - Knitting is my craft of choice, and I've done this one many times over.

4. Knit or crochet a purse - I've done this once. It wasn't the best purse, but it was alright for a starter project. I'd like to make more, but I always find something more interesting to knit that doesn't require stitching.

5. Open an Etsy store - For something I put off for so long, this was really easy. I sold one thing. I wouldn't call it a success, but I wouldn't call it a failure either. I'd like to try to list more things in the future and see what else I can put out there.

6. See a musical - Jon and I got to see "Avenue Q" on stage when it come to K-State. It was an amazing show.

7. Bake homemade bread from scratch - This is an idea from my more domestic phase, but I did manage to do, even in our tiny kitchen. It was a little bit flat, but it tasted great. In the future, I can see myself baking more, even though I prefer fast rise breads.

8. Do my own online radio show - This was really short lived. Life got busy and I lost my motivation. It was a fun experience though. I've since thought of doing a webcast, but the radio show proved I wasn't cut out for long term on-air time.

9. Run a D&D Campaign - It took me forever to get up the nerve to run a game, but I finally did it thanks to the user friendly 4th edition of the game. A year later, my game is still going. I love my gaming group and I love the storyline I created. I'm no longer writing my own full encounters, but the basic storyline I created is still there, and I throw in my own flair when the urge hits.

10. Ask for a raise - Right after I did this, several things changed with regards to the work I was doing, but the act of doing it was an accomplishment in itself. It's hard to put yourself out there with something like this. Somehow, I managed to do it.

11. Go to a sci-fi, webcomic, or gaming convention - GenCon. Nothing else needs to be said.

Time for Some Reflection

2011-05-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

The night we heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed, I posted a lengthy Facebook status which ended with “I should have blogged this.” In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t. I was tired and emotional and hadn’t yet had time for it to sink in. Reading through my social networks, I was overwhelmed by the quantity and variation of the reactions.

From the collective group of people I know/follow/interact with, there was the “Whoo hoo! Let’s party hard and show ‘em what happens when you mess with America!” to the “Death is nothing to celebrate.” There was also a few “I guess this means the war’s over” and a scattered, “Oh no! Now it’s just going to get worse.”

I feel like the connecting circle in a Venn diagram of all these opinions.

Yes, I’m glad bin Laden has been taken care of, but it’s not the kind of glad that has me doing a victory dance. It’s the kind of glad that comes from relief. After 10 years, we’ve managed to do what we set out to do. We’ve been persistent, and it’s finally paid off. I’m proud of the people who accomplished this. I’m also proud because it reminds me of what our military men and women are doing for us every day. I’m proud because as a country, we’ve had this shared goal for ten years and now we get to share in the end result.

However, I don’t feel celebratory. One death doesn’t bring back all the lives that were lost. Death in itself isn’t something that makes me want to light fireworks and dance. There have been times in the past when things I’ve said have indicated otherwise due to animosity I’ve felt towards the people in question. But at the point of death, and at the point of seeing the impact it leaves on others, those feelings are not something I’m proud of. Of all the people who I should be glad to see gone, bin Laden would probably be at the top of the list. But I can’t even bring myself to celebrate with the enthusiasm so many others seem to have.

It was mentioned that his death should be exactly what he deserved. I think the fact that he was hunted down and killed kind of took care of that part. It should also be noted that death isn’t a punishment….it’s a fact of life. And we’re not out of the clear. This one act isn’t going to stop other dangerous political leaders, it’s not going to stop wars, it’s not going to eradicate our military or the need for them to be doing what they’re doing. It very well might lead to more dangerous times. The leader is gone, but there are still terrorist organizations out there who will inevitably find a new leader and new ways to make themselves heard.

The president said that the country would continue to be diligent, and I have no doubt of that. I also don’t want to come across as completely doom and gloom. I think this event has given people faith in what our country can do and hope that we’re on the right track. I think everything happens in its time, and perhaps this death is what the country needs right now.

Everyone has a purpose in this life, and for better or worse, it seems as if Osama bin Laden has served his.

Gaming: When Video Games Attack

2011-05-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was sick. Really sick on a Monday with stomach flu and fever and chest congestion.

The bad thing about taking a sick day is there's really nothing you can do around the house. Being sick doesn't make anything easy. I tried to write, and that didn't work out. I thought about cleaning, but who wants to move when they're feeling horrible? Even reading wasn't cutting it because I couldn't focus on the story through the nausea.

On a whim, I decided to play our latest Gamefly game, "Fable: The Lost Chapters." This game was made for the original XBox but is compatible (sort of) with the 360. I'd heard alot of things about it and thought I'd give it a try. I'd started it over the weekend and wasn't sure if I was sold or not.

Apparently, I liked it better than my initial impression said I would, because I finally put down the remote ten and a half hours later.

That's right. 10 and 1/2 hours of video gaming.

I know people do this. Heck, I know that for some gamers, 10 hours is normal, a short gaming day even. It's not anything I've ever had strong opinions about either. I remember when the original Nintendo came out I'd want to be on it for hours playing Mario Bros. or Tetris. Video games are addictive....really addictive...and they can be hard to put down.

Since I started playing games on the XBox, I've been good about not getting too engrossed in playing. In hindsight, scary games like Silent Hill: Homecoming, Alan Wake, and Saw probably help by being creepy enough to where I have to take frequent breaks to do other things. Fable, on the other hand, is fairly whimsical and bright and even funny.

It's not the gaming I try to stay away from either. It's the fact that I know myself, and I get depressed if I don't do something productive. Which is likely why I had to keep telling myself yesterday not to feel guilty about taking a day to rest. The video game kept my mind engaged, so I didn't have to focus on how crappy I felt.

Yes, it's slothful, but the day after, even though I wasn't feeling physically healthy, my mind was recharged and reset and ready to work again. I was back at work being productive and blogging and getting back in the swing of writing.

It may be the game, or it may be the situation. I don't know if I could game like that all the time, but for the future, I may have to consider scheduling some alone time for me and the XBox to give my mind a rest from the real world and a healthy jolt of cyber gaming goodness.

Writing Revisited

2011-04-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the fact that I’ve been posting regularly to this blog as long as I have is probably a record. Thank goodness for the power to schedule posts because I don’t know if I could keep up the pace of blogging every day on top of everything else I’m working to accomplish.

In general, I think I’m doing pretty well. My AC articles have tapered off a little bit, but my other articles are getting done and published. In fact, I’ve turned out a few that didn’t need any rewrites.

I’ve begun to lag on keeping track of hours and payments. With payments, I figure I can just access my stuff online when I need it. For hours, I usually just forget. As long as I’m still producing in some form or another, I’m doing the job I want to do. If it ever comes to the point where I am working from home doing freelance writing, I’ll have to be a little more diligent about it, but I think I’m still a long way from that.

Then there’s Script Frenzy. Tomorrow marks the halfway point of the month and I’m over halfway finished with my script as of today. I’m not formatting as I write, which makes it go a lot faster, but if I keep up this pace, I’ll be relaxing easy at the end of the month. I’m writing a romantic comedy, and I’m finally getting to the point of some humor. Finally. If I’d planned to do something serious, the thing would have been hilarious from start to finish.

I’m also picking up other little things to help expand my writing. I joined a new campaign through BzzAgent, which means I’ll get to write reviews on products I try out. I also applied to another gaming site to be a writer, though I haven’t heard back so they may have filled the position already.

In order to get more readers, I had a small drawing for new AC subscribers and will hold another one either the end of this month or next month. I gained quite a few readers in that time, so I’m at least on my way to reaching my 100 subscribers goal by the end of the year.

All in all, I’m giving myself an A for effort and a B for quality. I just have to keep the momentum going.

Selling HandKnit Items

2011-04-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

At the time of this post’s conception, I’m getting ready for a yard sale with some friends from work. Besides the massive amount of stuff we cleared out of our apartment, I’m also going to try to sell some of my hand knit items.

The plan is to lay them out and sell each at $5.00. To some, this may seem really cheap. Others probably wouldn’t spend a dollar on a hand knit item much less five.

I listed a bunch of stuff on Etsy, but only sold one thing, which I hear is fairly normal for Etsy newbies. I could have relisted, I just got lazy. I’ll probably post things in the future as I make them, but we’ll see. I’m getting rid of a lot of yarn at this sale and am now down to just two totes of the better yarn I have in my stash.

I have some really cute stuff. I have some pretty scarves, nice hats, and even a pair of hand knit fingerless gloves I’m going to let go of. Not all of it is functional. Some of it is just to look pretty. Some of it is…in my opinion…complete junk. I wasn’t even going to put it in the sale, but Jon made a good point.

You never know what people will find appealing.

It’s all going in, and then maybe I’ll have a better idea of what people like to buy. What doesn’t sell will make great gifts and beyond that…I guess I’d better start preparing my own line of winter fashion.

Old Journals

2011-04-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Jon and I tackled our apartment full force with de-cluttering and cleaning. In two and a half days we managed to create more room, add curtains to our living room and get rid of all kinds of stuff that was taking up space. Yay for productivity.

One of the boxes we went through contained all my old journals. I haven’t handwritten anything in a journal in a few years, not since right after I moved to Oklahoma. Online journaling and blogging have sort of filled that space. But I’ve kept my old ones out of a deep sense of sentimentality and the thought that someday I may want to go back and revisit my younger years.

I started keeping a journal in 3^rd grade. My first journal says “Diary” on the front, has a puffy plastic cover and a lock for which I’ve long since lost the key. I’m not sure if everyone else does this, but I make a distinction between a diary and a journal. Diaries always seem to put limits on your writing: Here are five lines…tell me about your day. A journal, on the other hand, gives you lots of free pages to write. I always had to use a journal…I was too long winded and angsty throughout junior high and high school to limit myself.

We cracked open my 3^rd grade journal for the heck of it, and I laughed so hard I cried. Jon laughed, my mom…when I finally shared it with her…and my friends laughed. Because the writings of 3^rd grade Amanda were hilarious. They contained important things, like nicknames my classmates had for each other and the fact that my team (I was “red”) lost a basketball game. My favorite was probably the rant I did about my sister, which I intro’d with “I could probably write a whole page of bad stuff about my sister” (if you’re reading this, Sister, sorry! I was only 8!) I then laid it out in business plan format.

“I could just give in and play with my sister. Complication: She would want me to keep playing with her even when if I didn’t want to.”

I’m proud of my younger self’s grasp of punctuation.

This was the only journal I opened. Maybe some time in the future I’ll look at some of my later ones, but I remember a lot of the bad stuff and I don’t know if, even knocking on the door of 32, I’m ready to relive some of it. I know there’s good stuff in there too…stuff that will give me warm fuzzies and take me back to an easier time.

I think I’ll leave them packed away for now and read them the next time we clean the apartment.

In the Kitchen: Bubble Pizza

2011-04-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

It seems like I posted this before, but I had a request for the recipe so I didn’t think it could hurt to share it again.

The original recipe can be found here

I love bubble pizza, though when I talk about it, I think people confuse it with bubble tea (which I’ve never had). I’m not a fan of a lot of veggies, so Jon and I just claim half each. I get meat on my side and he throws some mushrooms and olives on his.

The biscuit crust gives it a really good taste, and I found out this past week that it makes good leftovers. Unfortunately, I did come across a small part of biscuit that hadn’t baked, and I have a really hard time with raw biscuit dough. This doesn’t normally happen to us, though.

In the past, we’ve also substituted ground turkey for the ground beef. It’s one of those easy recipes that you can mix and match ingredients to make it more or less healthy.

Let me know if you make this one and what you think!

Writing: Self Promotion - Creative Writing Edition

2011-04-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

In order to manage my time a little more effectively, I'm already abandoning the Saturday and Sunday editions of this blog. This isn't to say I won't still be doing self promotion and sharing, but I'm just going to schedule them into the regular 3 day a week schedule.

Jon and I are doing some hardcore cleaning and purging of the junk in our house, and while going through some old notebooks, I found copies of the literary publication from college. "The Blurb" took art and writing from LSSU students and published them twice a year. A few weeks ago, my mom requested that I publish one of the short stories that had been published in The Blurb on AC so she could share it with some work friends.

I went ahead and republished the short story and two poems.

The Memorial - A woman goes through the motions of a having a memorial for her husband. It doesn't sound like much, but my mom requested it and it's not a bad story. I did make some changes from the original draft, but the point is the same.

Women's World - Though I don't think it was my original intention, this poem is pretty sapphic and saturated in lesbianism. However, I think it talks more to new experiences and the intense, uncomfortable feelings chance encounters can invoke. No matter which way you take it, I think this is some good writing.

Porn Industry - I don't have an issue with adult films. I do, in fact, think they have a valid niche in society. But I don't glamorize them the way some people do. This poem was meant to be a humorous take on what really goes on behind the scenes.

Goodreads: A Kiss in Time

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book by Alex Flinn that I've read, the first being "Beastly," which I wanted to read before I saw the movie (I still haven't seen the movie, but I liked the book).

In this remake of "Sleeping Beauty," Flinn's heroine, Princess Talia of Euphrasia, is an unhappy teenager who's been sheltered her whole life in an effort to keep her away from the dreaded spindle that will cause her and her kingdom to fall into a deep sleep. On her 16th birthday, in her quest for the perfect dress, she comes upon an old lady who...you guessed it...tricks her into touching a spindle.

Three hundred years later, while playing hooky from his European tour group, Jack finds the princess and kisses her awake. Jack is a teenage slacker who's parents have planned much of his life for him, so it's a shock to his system when he's thrown into the king's dungeon. Talia rescues him under the condition that he take her with him back to Florida.

The story is simple and sweet, and the retelling was well done. Talia and Jack both grow and develop as do most of the side characters, like Jack's parents and sister. One thing I particularly like about this book is that Flinn doesn't make her characters fall in love and spend eternity by each other's side. While this is acceptable (if somewhat unrealistic) in historical adult romance, I often find it annoying when the characters are only teenagers. Flinn avoids that trap while still allowing for the romantic element in the story.

A good book and a definite recommendation.

View all my reviews

In the Kitchen: Chili Dog Casserole

2011-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Before you gag, you should know that this recipe was actually really good! Not everyone likes hot dogs, but you could substitute sausages or turkey dogs too.

The basic recipe with reader tips can be found here.

I modified it by mixing ketchup and spicy brown mustard into the lower layer of chili and adding some cheese and chili in the tortillas before rolling them up. I would recommend using a good sized casserole dish and maybe getting a third can of chili. We also put some corn chips on the dish to give it some crunch.

I'm not a fan of beans, but we got the bean chili and I didn't really care that much. The whole meal cost about five dollars since we got everything but the cheese at Aldi and the cheese we got on sale at Hy-Vee.

If you've ever had Sonic's Frito Chili wrap, this is very similar, only with a hot dog in the center.

If you try this, comment and let me know how you liked it and what, if any, modifications you made.

The Relevance of Puppets

2011-04-13T09:00:00.001-07:00

Avenue Q made it to our little corner of the world a couple weeks ago, so Jon and I splurged on tickets. I couldn't pass up the opportunity considering this is one of the few productions on my "must see" list.

In junior high/high school, I had a love affair with the music from "Les Miserables," "Phantom of the Opera," "Cats," and "Miss Saigon." I got to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" on stage in Detroit and...haters gonna hate...got to see a scantily clad Donnie Osmond in the flesh (though I had little appreciation for it at the time).

While I still like listening to the music, and I'd go see "Les Miz" or "Phantom" in a heartbeat if it came to the area, many of the things I liked then lack relevance for me. "Avenue Q," on the other hand, was all sorts of relevant to my life. I hated that feeling of being out of college, yet not in a career and having no idea what the heck I was going to do. I've been broke (still am at times), I've been lonely, I've found comfort in the internet (though maybe not in the same way Trekkie Monster finds comfort in the internet), and I've had that feeling that I'm "less" because I failed to live up to someone's expectations.

While the play is done in good, raunchy fun, it also makes valid points about life, and even though I'm past alot of the angst reflected in the show, it still reminded me that I'm not alone in what I went through and what I still sometimes go through. Alot of people have those times, and they don't really stop once you're out of your 20s.

Hard times come and go, and "Avenue Q" reminds us that the things we're going through are really and truly "just for now."

The “Fine” Art of One-Upping the Other Guy

2011-04-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

The world is full of those people who, no matter what you’ve accomplished, have already done it and/or have done it better. One or two of these instances are generally overlooked, and it’s likely the person has no idea they’re doing it. But when it gets to the point when you can’t even have a conversation without feeling like nothing you do is good enough, it generally leads to a loss of communication, distance, and sometimes the end of friendship.

This trend is bad enough in real life, but I’ve noticed it online quite a bit recently, and while none of it is directed at me, I still find it annoying. Even if the offenders don’t actually mean anything by it, the only thing I read in their backhanded compliments is that they can’t stand that someone else might have done something better.

We all have our moments where we want recognition for what we did. I get in these moods where I’m all “Read my awesome writing because I’m awesome” (even though I know I’m not really all that awesome), and I like being recognized if I’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty to do something cool. But I can also congratulate others and share in their good news without having to feel the need to defend my place at the top of the –insert achievement here- dogpile.

Some people are raised different and to give them the benefit of the doubt, I’m sure they don’t realize they’re doing it. That's beside the point, however, when they’re coming across as self-absorbed and clueless.

There are certain times when it’s okay to bring your own story into the mix. In many friendly conversations I’ve had, the talk turns to a “you did this and I did this” discussion, but it’s rare that there’s any hostility or obvious attention whoring. Personal stories are a key in being empathetic to others. It’s not the “outdo” game, but a way to connect with someone else to let them know that you know how they feel.

Next time you feel yourself drawing someone else’s victory or accomplishment towards yourself, try to refrain and insert a simple “nice job” instead.

Final thought: If I tend to do this, I hope some of my readers will let me know. It’s always easier to note the annoying habits of others without seeing one’s own.

Productivity Vs. Depression

2011-04-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday depression has normally been the conclusion of an otherwise pleasant weekend. I know it's back to work the next day and I dwell on what I didn't accomplish over the weekend.

Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing, which is good in theory. I, however, tend to over relax, then feel guilty because nothing was accomplished. Even though I'm lazy by nature, I still beat myself up about what I didn't get done.

These past couple weekends have brought forth no Sunday depression. If anything, I've been feeling good about Sunday. I'm not dreading Monday morning, nor am I lazing around wondering where the time went. In fact, the last couple Sundays have been pretty good to me.

The difference in my weekends is that I'm spending time on both days writing. Since I changed how I thought about it, I know feel like if I can get writing time in and articles submitted, I'm utilizing my time well. If I log several hours, I don't feel as if my weekend was wasted. I feel good and ready to tackle the coming week.

I wonder if this is a sign of being a workaholic, if people can't live without that sense of productivity. If maybe their depression is also linked to how much they do and so to avoid that depression altogether, they just never stop "doing."

For me, I don't think I'm to that phase. First off, I get joy out of writing, even when I have to research, revise, and take criticism. Second, I'm still lazy. I just took two nights off in a row to do nothing but watch movies and play video games...not a characteristic of a true workaholic.

As long as I have something that keeps the Sunday blues away, though, I'm going to continue to use it.

The extra income and notoriety are perks too.

Slowin' My Roll

2011-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

I tend to get a little excited about things and take on more than I can handle. I remember doing this in high school and the first part of college. I'd fill my schedule then realize that I'd probably made a mistake in not scheduling a break here and there. Eventually I got lazy and stopped doing stuff, and now anyone who knows me knows I tend to be a homebody and don't always accept every invitation that comes my way. (I also call it laziness, but that's just semantics).

When it comes to hobbies, I've always been one to throw myself head first into them and gluttonize on whatever happens to hold my interest at that moment. I've gone through weekends where I'll do nothing but read for two days straight. Not long ago, I was having knitting marathons that left my hands swollen and sore at the end of the day. Back in college, I would do nothing but write, so much so that I'd be up all night long working on some story or another that I was feeling passionate about at the time.

The problem with turning writing into a part time job is that I can't immerse myself as completely all at one time. Because I burnout fast, I need to learn to pace myself or risk screwing up my chance to turn this into something lucrative. Take this past weekend for instance. I wrote all day Saturday, which I enjoyed. I got to sit at Hastings, drink coffee and write at my own pace. However, after submitting three articles, instead of holding off until I'd done my rewrites and knew I'd have to write the next weekend, I started claiming titles like a madwoman.

Two days later, I realized there was no way I was going to do nine articles in a week while working a full time day job, visiting with friends at least one night, and keeping my sanity with an off night or at least some down time in the evenings.

The phrase "slow my roll" occurred to me in actual context, rather than the snarky way Jon and I use it most of the time. Luckily, both of my writing platforms allow me to release assignments, so that was the first thing I did. This made the dreaded re-writes about ten times easier and they went easier than I'd anticipated. With that under my belt, I took a break and played a video game...without feeling guilty.

While extra income is nice, it's not really worth losing my sanity or my love of writing. I've used the excuse for years that I haven't tried to make writing a job because I don't want to end up hating it. Now that I've taken that step, I need to also take steps to keep enjoying it. Article writing may not be the big rollercoaster at the local amusement park, but I want to be able to do it with a certain amount of motivation and enjoyment for the work I produce.

Plus, it would be nice to keep up the momentum for longer than two weeks.

Giving Up Pop

2011-04-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’m on another mission to give up pop/soda/sugary carbonated beverages that offer no nutritional value whatsoever. It’s hard though. At the time of writing this, I’m on my second pop-free day and I’m craving a Coke. Or a Diet Coke. Or a Diet Mountain Dew. Instead, I’m drinking coffee with only a little bit of creamer (eventually I’ll go back to drinking it black) and a bottle of water.

I know the healthier of the options is water, and I go through phases where I love water. I like the add-ins, I like it plain, I like it for tea. But I love my soda too. I’ve been told that you can’t be “addicted” to pop, but if it’s a matter of it all being in your head, then I’ll admit…it’s in mine.

I drank diet pop for a long time, disregarding anything people told me about it being bad for me. My mom drank it for years and had no issues, and I felt less guilty drinking it instead of regular pop. I knew it had the tendency to make people crave sugar, but when I was watching what I ate, it didn’t seem to matter.

Last year, I gave up pop altogether for about two months. During that time, I realized that I wasn’t hurting as much and it eventually clicked that I really did have a bad reaction to diet soda. Instead of being smart and just sticking to my no-soda plan, I started drinking regular. My intentions were good. I’d only have one a day and I’d watch it in reference to my calorie intake.

Unfortunately, I have some health issues that require I take into account more than calorie intake. No matter how good my intentions were, regular pop wasn’t any better. The sugar content has been messing with my system and within just a couple days of drinking it, I felt “puffy.” And yes, I’m puffy anyway, but this is sort of puffy that makes you feel like someone wrapped you in saran wrap (I’ve never been wrapped in saran wrap…I’m taking a guess).

I’m trying it again, because they say if you keep trying, you’re not really quitting. Or maybe I’m just saying that to help me feel better. There are a lot of things I love to drink that aren’t soda: juice, tea, Powerade, milk, coffee, and the occasional alcoholic beverage. So why the heck is it so hard to stay away from pop?

Just a couple days in and I’m feeling okay. I’m not 100% pain-free yet, but I’m working on it. A friend on Facebook said the first week was the hardest, so if I can just power through it, I might be okay.

Here’s to hoping.

Self Promotion Saturday

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday, my little band of blog readers. Hope the week was good, that dreams were made, eggs were broken (for delicious french toast, of course), and life made the lemonade for you.

It was a fast week for me, though I have to admit I fluffed off more than I probably should have. I took two nights off in order to watch Tangled and play "Saw" on the XBox, which isn't going so well since I can't seem to manuever in the dark or get through crazy closing blades. But who doesn't need a night or two off, right?

"Sucker Punch": Sexy Images Make Up for Lack of Substance - We went and saw "Sucker Punch" last weekend. For a movie, it was just okay. Then again, maybe I was just tired since we went to the late showing. However, the scene with the giant Samurai set to Bjork's "Army of Me"? Epic.

Five Tips for Preparing for an Outdoor Wedding - I wrote this one around the time when I was actually planning for an outdoor wedding. I opted for the courthouse ceremony instead, but I think the tips are still valid. Maybe. Hopefully.

Six Sources for Creative Writing Material - Yesterday kicked off the start of Script Frenzy, so in honor of the 30 day event, this is an article I wrote a couple years ago when I was harnessing the power of my creative muse for some serious fiction. Or not so serious fiction, depending on how you look at it.

Also, Miss J. Peach was the winner of the Starbucks card! She doesn't have a Blogger account and so isn't a follwer here, but I lured her into my super scary cult of article followers. I plan to hold another drawing next month, so let me know if I can add you to the drawing bin.

For the Love (or Lust) of Words

2011-04-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

The inspiration for today's post came from a caller on one of my favorite podcasts, The Savage Lovecast. This podcast talks about sexuality in all its various forms, including fetishes. The caller today from the podcast (it was an old podcast since I'm still catching up), had a fetish for words. Certain long, not often used words gave her an erotic thrill, and she enjoyed it when her lover read to her from the dictionary and gave her prompts to find new words.

Weird or not, I can understand the love of good words. Now I don't always use them. In fact, I often go for quantity over quality because I tend to write like I talk (at least in the first draft). That doesn't mean I don't love the way certain words come together and flow off the tongue. I've always assumed this was something that writers and readers do, but thinking about it now, that thinking was a little narrow minded on my part.

Anyone can love words. It's this love that makes certain poems and lyrics appealing. It's what fuels many of us to quote movies and TV shows over and over again. Words are everything we are, yet because they're always there, we sometimes forget to appreciate them. It isn't until we hear a striking word or phrase that we remember just how beautiful words can be.

In the movie Donnie Darko, Drew Barrymore's character talks about how "cellar door" is perceived to be one of the most beautiful word combinations ever made. The lyrics of Tori Amos strike me as powerful and beautiful and memorable. Even single words can be lovely: zaftig, questionable, farther, and luminescent are all favorites of mine.

Not all of us take our love of words to the next level like the caller on the podcast, but "weird" or not (and in my world, "weird" is a very subjective descriptor), I find it oddly beautiful that someone out there can feel the beauty of our language so strongly. Or any language for that matter.

Whoo...now that I mention it, I feel the need to go read a book.

Goodreads: Nightlight, A Parody

2011-03-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Nightlight: A Parody by Harvard Lampoon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like a good parody, but the key word there is "good." Many movie parodies are just dumb, and it's rare that I find a book parody to read, much less one that I enjoy.

However, the "Twilight" series seems to have opened itself up to several parody novels, including this one. In "Nightlight," Belle Goose is in love with Edwart Mullen, a strange boy who she believes is a vampire and will turn her into one as well. Belle knows she's popular, knows that no one actually notices when she falls over everything, and rubs herself in grapefruit juice because she knows that the scent makes her blood smell good to vampires.

The book was silly and entertaining, but that's coming from a person who is not a "Twilight" fan. Fans may not appreciate the blatant teasing of the original characters. I can picture people reading the book and thinking that the descriptions and metaphors are horrible, and that the writing is really bad. I can also imagine that some people aren't going to get the point that bad writing was the point of this book. It's meant to poke fun at the originals, which are...in fact...badly written.

If you're not a "Twilight fan" or a "Twilight" fan with a good sense of humor, I recommend this book as a fun, quick read. If, however, you love Bella and Edward and think "Twilight is the best thing since sliced bread, chances are, you're not going to appreciate this book.

View all my reviews

The Difference Between Day and Night

2011-03-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't say I'm a customer service expert, but there are a few things one needs when working in the customer service industry. Friendliness, patience, a working knowledge of your job, the willingness to apologize and make things right, and the willpower needed to keep from saying certain things to "difficult" customers.

Good customer service was the norm in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, it's more of a side note here in Kansas. Banks and doctors' offices are usually pretty good, but the general service we get from stores and restaurants is mediocre. There was also the incident at Applebees where our waitress gave us her whole life story. Trust me when I say that good customer service does not mean telling your customers everything they didn't want to know about your personal life.

The observation that brought about this line of thinking happened this morning when I decided to stop by McDonald's for breakfast. It was already a stressful morning because I had to get the tags for my car, and I was hungry and wanted a breakfast burrito. Our closest McDs has a history of messed up orders and workers who seem less than thrilled with their job. When we make a dinner McNugget run, the workers, at best, are uninterested, and are usually just annoyed.

But the morning workers? They're a different story. Two separate workers asked me how my morning was going, wished me a good day, smiled, and asked if I needed anything else before leaving. Maybe they were still fresh from a good night's sleep. Maybe the smell of early morning cooking grease and processed eggs does something to the human mood receptors...something good. Maybe they'd added something to the coffee that can't be found in a drug store.

Whatever it was, it was a nice experience. Maybe the service workers in Kansas collectively got together and decided that good customer service would not be the norm, but the exception that would occassionally brighten the days of us lowly, whiny, complaining customers. To be fair, maybe it's not all of Kansas. Maybe it's just THIS town.

Either way, thank you to the happy morning guys who made my breakfast experience a good one!

Share the Love Sunday

2011-03-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here's some more of the fun stuff I read, watch, follow, and enjoy.

Planescape: Metamorphosis - The artist for this webcomic is actually a friend of mine and a player in my Sunday night DnD game. He's a very cool guy with a cool webcomic. He also does web design, so if anyone's interested, I can put in a good word for you. Eventually, I think he's going to do a page for me!

The Purl Bee - When I got back into knitting, this was one of the first pages I found. They have cute patterns for knitting, sewing, and other types of crafts, and their page is bright and fun. Honestly, it always puts me in a good mood.

A Year of Slow Cooking - I know I've talked about this page on my blog before. A couple years ago, Stephanie O’Dea challenged herself to cook in her slow cooker every day for the whole year. She still updates the blog with recipes and you can find all the ones she did during her project. I've made a few of her recipes and they always come out great!

If you want a shout out or want to give me ideas for new things to look at, please let me know in the comments.

Self Promotion Saturday

2011-03-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’m still waiting on two recent articles to be approved through AC, but they’ll hopefully show up on my Associated Content page soon.

In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with these little gems.

A Walk in Spring – This was from the AC Assignment desk . It’s a short story about spring. Not sure how springy it feels, but I kind of had fun writing it.

Product Review: Dragon Chow Dice Bags – Fellow gamers, if you want a cool looking dice bag, then check out Dragon Chow. I met the owner through Twitter and decided to finally break down and buy a new dice bag for Jon and I.

Blogging: Exhibitionism for a New Generation - My first ever AC article. Some of the stuff is still relevant.

I set two goals this past. The first is to have 300 published articles on Associated Content by the end of 2011. The second is to have 100 subscribers on my Associated Content page. So to help me get going on the second one, I decided to have a small contest. Anyone willing to subscribe to my page will be entered in a drawing for a ten dollar Starbucks gift card. Now I know ten dollars isn’t a lot, but it is a coffee and a snack with a little bit leftover. I’d like to have future drawings as well, but I’m starting out small.

If you want to be entered into the drawing, here’s what to do:

1. Leave a comment saying you’ll subscribe.

2. Send a message to my personal email at mystressmanda@gmail.com. Put SUBSCRIBE ME in the subject line. I’ll add the email you use to my mailing list and you’ll get a notification whenever I publish something.

3. If you’re already an AC user just go to my page and click Subscribe.
I’ll draw on March 30th for the gift card and send it via email to the winner.

Rock on!

Writing Event: Script Frenzy

2011-03-25T09:00:00.001-07:00

We're about a week away from April, and some of my fellow writers may know that April is Script Frenzy month. If you're not familiar, you may know of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) which takes place every November. If you're not familiar with either one, here's the scoop.

The goal in November is to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. The event takes out the work of editing and worrying what sounds good and what doesn't. You just write your little heart out and work out the details later. I've done this in the past and I've won in the past, but I gave up in 2010 due to time factors and computer restraints (Jon and I were sharing, so it was harder to get sufficient laptop time).

Script Frenzy is NaNoWriMo's little sister event. The goal? Write a 100 page script in 30 days. This can be a script for a play, movie, or graphic novel. This year, I'm going to write a romantic comedy screenplay. This seems to be the genre that most of my fiction writing defaults to and so should give me the boost I need to complete the project.

It's hard to explain to people who loathe writing why this is fun, but it's all about creating. I love being the ruler of my own world for a little while. I engage myself with my characters, get emotional, and watch as they develop...because most writers will tell you that once you start writing, your characters tend to have plans you didn't anticipate. It's fun, and having a deadline adds a dose of excitement to it.

After the Frenzy is over, some people will edit and submit their work to be published. Others will hibernate the work and proudly display their winner's badge. I'm not sure yet what I'll do. Probably the latter, because I tend to be lazy when it comes to the final product of my work.

If there are any writer's out there who want to give it a shot, let me know so I can add you to my friends list.

Good luck and happy writing!

No Water

2011-03-23T09:00:00.001-07:00

We are currently without water.

The pilot light of our hot water heater broke and and maintenance can't find a fix-it kit. Therefore, we are now going on our third night with no hot water.

I can't take a cold shower. It's painful to me, especially when the weather is not yet "summer" weather. So we're kicking it semi-pioneer style, heating water on the stove, then ladling it into another container to do the "bird bath" option of cleaning.

Followed up with deodorant and body spray, this isn't a horrible temporary way to bathe. But I want a shower. I really want a shower. I don't even like taking showers. Don't ask why. I like being clean, but I don't like the act of showering.

But when you take away my water and my ability to shower...suddenly, it's all I want to do.

Here's to hoping we have hot water again tomorrow. I feel like I should request some sort of discount on our rent, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way.

Boo.

Knitting in Public: At the Bowling Alley

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I blogged about the opportunity I took during the Big Brother/Big Sister's bowling event to get some knitting done. Let me say that a game of bowling is perfect for getting a few stitches in. Even if you don't bow out halfway through the second game like I did, when you're playing with several others, the time between your turn is great for getting a couple rows done and still pay attention to what's happening in the game.

My project for this event was a basket weave scarf. This is the first time I've done basket weave. It's a really pretty pattern. After getting part way through it, I wasn't sure if I liked the way the sides ruffled and thought maybe I should have done a garter stitch border. However, now that it's a little longer, I realize that that ruffled look is actually kind of charming.

That yarn is Lion Brand Cotton Ease from my stash. It knits up well and is nice and soft. This picture not only shows the project, but also some of the hazards one might face when knitting at a bowling alley: grease and beer. However, no projects were dirtied in the making of this KIP. Just proceed with caution if you're going to mix the elements.

Share the Love Sunday

2011-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was all about promoting myself. Today, I want to share the blogs, writings, etc. of other people I follow. I don't have a huge following, but I do follow some awesome people with fun blogs, so check them out!

Scraps of Life - Sarah makes me want to scrapbook. I have yet to try it, but the things she creates are adorable and I love looking at her pages. Not only is she talented and creative, but her daughter makes the cutest model for her creations.

Adventures of a Silly, Silly Girl aka Sassypants Knitter - I heard Fru's podcast before I read her blog, whether she's talking or writing, this girl is so cute! She's a fellow knitter who also crochets, games, and motivates with her fitness journey. I recommend both her blog and her podcast.

Domestic Chaos - Ashley is a mother of a two year old who embraces her duties and attitudes towards parenting to the fullest. She's a strong advocate for breastfeeding, and her honesty is striking. She's also a freelance writer who's working on becoming a novelist. I have first hand knowledge of her fiction and she's an amazing writer.

I'll be doing more of these in the future, so if you'd like me to check out your blog (if I'm not already reading it) and give you a shout out, give me the link in the comments, or email me at mystressmanda@gmail.com. I'd love other suggestions as well, and don't be afraid to just say "Hey! I want to be promoted!"

Self Promotion Saturday

2011-03-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday seems like a good day to share some of my other writings with anyone who reads this blog. Most of what I'm going to share will be articles I've written for Associated Content. However, during writing events, like Script Frenzy or National Novel Writing Month, I might share some fiction for feedback and/or calls for beta readers should I move forward with anything I write.

Feedback is good, and even if you just want to skim the article, page hits are awesome!

Lords of Acid and Angelspit come to Kansas City - This article was just published this week and was from the concert I attended with a friend of mine last week. The concert was alot of fun. I was introduced to Lords of Acid in college, so I was familiar with their music. Angelspit and their opening act, Radical G, were both new to me, and I found that I really liked their music.

The Lunar Eclipse - I remember writing this on a whim when I lived in Oklahoma City right before the occurrence of a lunar eclipse. It involved a little bit of research and finding out some interesting factoids about the phenomenon.

Sault Ste. Marie, MI - Sault Ste. Marie will always be a place I think of with love. I went to college there and stayed for several years after, and I still miss the summers. This was one of my first articles written for AC.

I'm always looking for new subscribers at my content page as well. Thanks for reading!

Goodreads: Feed

2011-03-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Feed by Mira Grant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a little late to the zombie bandwagon, and to tell the truth, I'm still not fully in fan with. I like the random zombie movie and book, and if there's a "Tweet like it's the Zombie Apocalypse Day" on Twitter, I'll join in. But unlike my husband, I am not a zombie enthusiast and have never appreciated them as anything that could be multi-faceted.

"Feed" takes the concept to a different level. This isn't your standard story about zombies walking around eating people's brains. In the post-Rising world that Shaun and Georgia Mason live in, George Romero is hailed as a survivalist hero and bloggers are celebrities of the media world. When the Mason's blogging team is chosen to follow a presidential hopeful on the road, they're thrilled at the opportunity of a lifetime.

Things on the road get dangerous, however, when someone starts targeting the candidate's family and the blogging team for assassination, using the same virus that has spread over the world and turned so many people into zombies. The blog team finds their ratings going higher while their assignment tests their ultimate survival skills.

This book is not a simple story. The future setting is a detailed one that the author developed well. The idea of blogging becoming a main source of news isn't far fetched as even now, blogs play an important roll in how information is distributed. Even the Kellis-Amberlee virus is believable, and so this book goes from being a fun zombie read to an account that makes the reader go, "Wow, I can see how this would happen."

I don't like to give spoilers, but I will say that this book brought out all kinds of emotions in me. I definitely recommend it as a good read, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Newsflesh series.

View all my reviews

Special St. Patty's Day Edition

2011-03-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I wore green today. I enjoyed a work potluck. I will not be drinking green beer or attending a parade, but I had a good day and I'm ready to relax.

Who's feeling lucky today? This girl!

I'm lucky to have a wonderful husband who does more for me than I'd ever be able to ask for.

I'm lucky to have the family I have. For better or worse, they've shaped my life, they've taught me important lessons, and they've given me alot of great memories. I love them all.

I'm lucky to have great friends.
I'm lucky to be gainfully employed.
I'm lucky to be able to knit.
I'm lucky that I have a love of reading and writing.
I'm lucky that I have an ability to write well when I put my mind to it.

I'm lucky to have had all the experiences I've had in the past and to be able to look forward to all the ones in the future. I'm lucky that I am 90% happy with who I am in general and 100% happy with who I am on the inside.

I joked with Jon the other night that the reason we were destined to be together is because we're polar opposites on the luck scale. He finds money on the street, always seems to win something with instant scratch off tickets, and always wins something on our rare casino trips. I tend to lose money doing all three.

But where it really counts, I'm truly blessed in what I have.

Hope you all have a great St. Patrick's Day and may the "luck" continue for the rest of the year!

Good Causes: Bowling for Big Brothers/Big Sisters

2011-03-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

This post is coming a week late, but better late than never.

Last week, Jon and I joined our friend E and her husband in the local Big Brother/Big Sister bowl-a-thon fundraiser. Though it's been years since I've bowled, this was reminiscent of the fundraisers I did with my sorority for our philanthropy.

E did all of the fundraising. Our part was volunteering to be on her team, though we did pledge some money for the cause. The deal was two hours of bowling or two games, whichever came first. The organizers fed us chips and salsa and pizza and I managed to win a door prize. I opted for a free drink from Bluestem Bistro which I will use when I finally get my butt there for Manhattan SnB night.

I actually won the first game, but my game went downhill in the second game for a few reasons. My arm was fatigued by that time, so I wasn't throwing well at all. If you think bowling isn't a really physical activity, try doing it when you're out of shape. Besides the arm thing, I ended up hurting my knees. Awesome. Instead of finishing my second game, which was turning out to be a gutter game, I let Little D finish it out for me.

All in all, we had a fun time and I was able to get some knitting done between frames and I felt good helping out a good cause.

Shameless Self Promotion

2011-03-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've done this, but I figured I'd try it again. It's mostly an effort to keep myself on track when it comes to writing and getting myself out there. It might reek of spammy spam, but please don't feel like you have to click on anything I share.

For a little background, I've been writing articles for a few years now through Associated Content. I dabbled in Triond but kind of put that to the wayside and started with Demand Studios (submitted my first article for editor review tonight, in fact). Most of my AC income comes from page views, so the more people who read my stuff, the higher that amount is. Also, even though I don't usually like to draw attention to myself, writing is one of those areas where I kind of like showing off. This doesn't mean all my stuff is good, but I appreciate readers and feedback.

When I self promote, it'll probably be with old articles and stories I feel I want to share, but I'll also post new things I publish on AC as well. I hope this doesn't come across as annoying, and if it does, I just ask that you bypass the post. However, if anything strikes you as interesting, please feel free to click the link and check out the article.

Five Basic Steps for Buying an Airplane

Dream House - A Short Story

Slow Cooker Recipe: Nacho Cheese Chicken

A Word on Napping

2011-03-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Inspiration for this post came from two sources: this blog with the actual article, and that blog from my Google Reader which lead me there. Go read them, check out the blogs, then read my own take on napping.

I love naps, but I think they take some practice. The quick energizing nap? It never happens for me, at least not these days. In college and while I was working at Glens, I would sneak out to my car on lunch and take a nap. I don't recall too many instances where I overslept past the alarm, and I had awesome co-workers who were nice enough to come out and wake me up if I didn't show back up when lunch hour was over.

At that time, the need for those naps came from really late nights of partying. In general, I could stay up late, sometimes all night, and go work an eight hour day at the store without thinking too much about it. Yeah, it was uncomfortable, but I didn't have the headaches and nausea I have now when I don't get enough sleep. Those hour long naps, while not used after every late night, were extremely helpful in getting me through the rest of a day.

The other naps I took and take are those that happen in the afternoon when the urge to sleep comes out of nowhere. When I'm at home, I can give in to that urge. I always tell myself that I'm only going to lay down for 20 minutes, but it never happens that way. I end up sleeping for a minimum of three hours. While those three hours feel great, and I wake up feeling pretty good, it always leads to not being able to sleep later that night.

Reading this article has made me re-think the concept of the nap. Would I be able to get it right if I just practiced? Would it really be beneficial if I could slip out to my car on lunch and take a nap before finishing out the work day? I go through phases of exhaustion, and lately I've been feeling pretty run down. I would love if a little extra sleep could give me a pick-me-up.

I'd also love it if I could perfect the nap to help me focus on my writing and the courses I'm taking through my job. I have to take my test soon, and I'd prefer to do well instead of having to retake it. Maybe that miracle nap will help me retain and remember the ins and outs of food defense.

I'll be thinking about a plan of action for nap time to see if this really works. Mid-day car nap could be good, though it's kind of dependent on weather. I also wonder how an after work nap would fit in and if it would still let me get to bed at night if I really and truly limited it. If I can get this to work and become a professional napper, I'll be sure to share the results.

Finished Objects: Cherry On Top Hat

2011-02-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

This hat reminds me of a weird dessert with a cherry on top, hence the name. The cherry looks a little fermented, because it's not actually the color of a cherry, and the cat came out looking uber goofy. On a whim, I added ear flaps, which are completely ineffective because I positioned them wrong. Plus...and this is silly...I had a really hard time making a simple pom pom. Therefore, I did a weird loopy version of my own until I could get some pom pom practice.

Sorry for the bad lighting in the pictures. I can never get a good flash pic when dealing with white yarn, so I skipped it altogether.

Even when I make something pink and girly, I can always count on Jon to ham it up for the camera. What a good guy!

Not sure what I'm going to do with this one. I look goofy in a hat, but it does wear low enough to cover my ears and I suppose it does have some charm. Going to put it in the finished objects pile until the right use for it comes along.

ALF

Ode to a New (to us) Car

2011-02-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

My old car, Francesca, was a good car. She got me all over the place: Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Kansas...back and forth between these places several times. But it was time to move on, and Jon and I decided to go ahead and make our first big married couple purchase together in our new car, Cassiopeia.

Cassi is a Chevy Impala. When we went to the dealer, I wasn't wanting another sedan, but this one was more of a super sedan. It sits high enough off the ground to be comfortable, it's got an auxiliary port for an iPod, it's got room in the back so we can travel with others, it has a huge trunk, steering wheel radio controls, cruise control, and dual temperature controls.

Best of all, she fits in our budget, thanks to the great people at Suzuki of Wichita. Even though we were there for 8 hours, they found us a good car, fed us tacos (no kidding...there was a taco bar in the car dealership), and helped us get financed.

Here's to many more travels and many good miles in our new car.

ALF

Working on Getting Some "Class"

2011-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

I've thought on and off over the past few years about going back to school. I never did decide what I wanted to be when I grew up after I realized that I no longer wanted to be what I thought I wanted to be (does that make sense)? In a nutshell, I wanted something different than what I went to college for, and so I've kind of been wandering around, falling into jobs I like but that have very little to do with my original major.

When it came to school, I was burnt out by the time I was done. Actually, I was burnt out before that, and my priorities were not what they should have been. I was in my first "real" relationship and wanted to immerse myself in that rather than paying attention to my grades. Even though I came out of it with a decent GPA, I realize that I could have done better. I just didn't.

I don't actually want to go back to school. I don't like early morning classes, I don't like lecture classes, I don't like studying. There are things I want to learn, but let's face it. I'm a lazy hedonist. I'd rather read fun books and knit and watch TV than crack open a book and do homework. Even with the abundance of online schooling now offered, I've never really gotten up the motivation to go for anything further with my education. It's cool...I'm okay with it.

However, I've decided to take some classes through my work, and I'm kind of excited about them. A co-worker of mine inspired me to do it when she told me she was taking some. Since we're employees, we get a tuition waiver of sorts, so we can up our knowledge of the industry we already work in, though we work from the sidelines. It's interesting to see what our field staff actually does in their day jobs.

I also like the thought of having a little more knowledge under my belt and maybe having some new opportunities down the road. It's not a field I ever thought I'd be in, but I think it's one I could do well in if given the chance. So technically, I'm back in class. It's online courses, and the first one I'm taking is a 60 day course. I'm trying to do some time management when it comes to studying and taking the review tests, and so far I'm doing okay.

If anyone has any time management tips, class taking skills, or words of encouragement, send them my way.

ALF

Late Valentine's Day Dinner

2011-02-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

As is our general way of doing things, Jon and I did nothing on Valentine's Day. We waited a day and then went out to dinner at Cox Bros. BBQ here in Manhattan, KS.

I love BBQ. It's tasty, it's messy, it's tangy, and it's delicious. I hadn't really found a BBQ place around here that I really liked. Okay, I hadn't found a BBQ place at all. Cox Bros showed up a few months ago and this was our first time visiting.

Cox BBQ is like the fast food of BBQ with higher prices than say the McRib at McDonald's. However, the prices are worth it for the taste and the amount of food you get. The meat was tasty and tender. I had brisket and turkey, both of which I've had tough and dry in the past. They were awesome. I also sampled all of the BBQ sauces, but I still don't know which one was my favorite.

I avoided ribs, and therefore eliminated the messiness, but we still had a good time and a relaxing evening out.

Goodreads: Midnight Pearls - A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid"

2011-02-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid" by Debbie Viguié

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My last review was on another book in the "Once Upon A Time" series, and while that one tried to take the realistic retelling approach, this one stuck with the fantastical aspect of the classic fairy tale while the author gave it her own little spin.

Pearl is rescued from the sea when she's only four years old, but growing up, both she and her parents realize she's a little strange. The only person who seems to accept her outside of her family is James, her best friend who she meets in secret once a week due to the fact that he's the prince...and the prince isn't supposed to mix with commoners. When James is told by his father that he must wed, he approaches Pearl, but before he can propose, their boat capsizes and everything changes.

From the sea come two mermaids: Kale, who recognized Pearl as the sea princess Adriana, and his sister Faye, who falls in love with the prince and saves him from drowning. The mer siblings make a deal with the sea witch to become human, both for different reasons, but both paying a price with the ultimate loss being death. As they try to earn the love of the ones they've fallen in love with, they are caught in a treacherous plot of those wanting to take over the throne.

This was another quick read and it wasn't bad. The writing was good, and the story had a definite air of "fairy tale" about it. While it was a retelling, it stuck pretty close to the original with a few new characters thrown in. I like retellings to be a bit more subtle, but it did what it was meant to do. I don't think it's one I'll ever read again, and it got a bit boring towards the end, but I don't consider the time I spent reading it to be a waste of time.

View all my reviews

Hello My Friends...We Meet Again...

2011-02-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

First of all....hi there new followers! The story of my life is that I come and go, blog then disappear, and though I always have the best intentions of keeping up with all my blogs, I always end up failing somewhere. Unfortunately, this blog often gets forgotten.

As to what's been happening in my world, 2011 has been a busy year and we're not even two months out. At the start of the year, I went into a partnership with a friend as a Passion Parties consultant.

In January I helped my friends move to Oklahoma from Michigan and learned how intense road trips can be.

Last weekend, J and I celebrated our first year of wedded bliss.

In two days, we're going to Wichita to go car shopping. My girl is pretty high up in miles, so it's time to trade her in for something that will travel with us just as much as she did.

At some point in the next couple of weeks, I will be starting classes through the American Institute of Baking. I work for the company and so have an idea of what the courses are like. This will also determine if I've grown up enough to do well in a school type setting again.

J and I have already bought our badges and booked our hotel room for Gen Con in August. This year, we're taking one of the BILs and a friend of ours along to help lower costs.

I've been reading and knitting and trying to spread my time among all my hobbies equally. I stopped posting my book reviews but will start again after I finish the current book I'm reading. As for knitting, I've been working on hats to send as Pay It Forward gifts to friends. I dabbled in a little bit of crochet too and am planning on learning more this year, even if I just read through "Crochet for Dummies." Here is the standard granny square afghan I just finished.

I call it my Spumoni blanket because for some reason, it reminds me of the ice cream.

I've been batting around what to do with this blog for a long time, and I think I'm going to stop trying to make it one thing or another. I'll continue to share projects and pictures, but I might also do some ranting and some more personal things (nothing too personal though...mostly because I really have nothing scandalous to share). Once again, we'll see how it goes and keep on keepin' on.

ALF

Recipe: Chicken and Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce

2011-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Originally posted on Stretching a Dollar on July 4, 2008.

I recently scored an italian cookbook on sale at Borders (it turned out to be free with my Borders Bucks) and this was the first recipe I tried from it. For anyone who knew me in Sault Ste. Marie, it mimicks one of my favorte Ang-Gio's recipes.

1 tbsp olive oil

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 jar pasta sauce

2 cups water

8 oz pasta (we used spaghetti)

1/2 cup whipping or heavy cream

1/2 tsp dried basil leaves, crushed (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves)

1. In 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and brown chicken. Remove chicken and set aside.

2. In same skillet, stir in pasta sauce and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in uncooked pasta and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender.

3. Stir in cream and basil. Return chicken to skillet and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

The whipping cream and basil add a little bit of a cost to this recipe but not much and it's really good. The sauce is heavy and filling but has a great taste. There are a few things we're going to change next time though. The chicken was a little bland, so we're going to bread it parmesan style next time. We're also going to try cheese filled tortellini for the pasta to give it a kick. Cooking directions may vary slightly due to this change, so be careful if you do it first.

Ugly Cookies and Pretty Fruit Salads

2011-01-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

Originally posted on "Never Meant for the Kitchen" on December 17, 2008.

This past weekend I had to challenge of making something for a pot luck at work. I'd never made anything for a potluck. Oh, I've been to them plenty of times, but I always swung by a store beforehand to grab soda or rolls or cookies from the bakery. This time I decided to actually put forth some effort.

I should mention here that my boyfriend and I are trying to lose weight, so many of our recipes are of the lower fat, lower cal variety (not all of them however...we're doing the everything in moderation plan). Since I knew there wouldn't be alot of lighter fare at the potluck, I decided to try to go that route so I'd have something to fall back on (for the record, I still stuffed myself).

My first attempt was some low cal cookies I found on SparkPeople.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=62425

Not sure what happened but while I'd expected dryness in the dough, it was pretty much the exact opposite. And yes, I'll admit, I just sort of dropped them haphazardly all over the pan. Of course, the liquidity of them might have had something to do with me taking the lazy route of separating my egg whites and dropping some yoke in there. I thought I'd pulled most of it out...apparently that doesn't count?

I about freaked when I took them out of the oven. Instead of the light brown, smallish, fluffy cookies I remembered from childhood, the Monster Cookies of the Deep emerged....

Strangely enough, they tasted really good! But getting them off the pan was no easy feat (a lesson to me to use wax paper next time). After we got done poking and prodding these with a knife and a spatula, we finally managed to get them onto a plate.

According to my boyfriend, these cookies had their own defense mechanism...by looking like rotten meat jerky, they kept our roommates from eating them.

However, I was not about to serve these bad boys to my co-workers. So it was back to the drawing board of "what to fix for a group of hungry people." Then I was hit with inspiration. Fruit Salad! I love fruit, but for some reason I never seem to eat enough of it. I figured with fruit salad, I could eat the leftovers and not feel bad about it.

Wanting to give some variety, I decided to make two salads. The first was called a Winter Fruit Salad and was a recipe from SparkPeople.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=442753

My version excluded the kiwi fruit and the pear and added a couple sliced strawberries for color. I also used four different apples: Braeburn, Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith (one each). A few shots of lemon juice kept them from turning brown and didn't make the salad overly tangy.

This was a double batch and I had alot left over, so next time I'll pare it down to one serving. This coming weekend, I'm making it for myself and will freeze the servings. Of the two, this was my favorite.

The second salad was my boyfriend's favorite. This whipped fruit salad was a little higher in calories, but still not too bad in the scheme of things.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=434055

This was another double batch, so I mixed sugar free Cool Whip with Light Cool Whip and since the store didn't have any healthy looking blueberries, I went frozen. While the taste was pretty darn good, the salad itself didn't look as pretty as the first one.

I will definitely make this again but would like to experiment a little. I may want take out the pineapple (never have been a fan of the stuff) and add nuts and/or marshmallows to give that real fluff feel.

It would also be fun to try some different flavors of pudding.

For the record, everyone at work seemed to like it, but the double batches made alot so we still had leftovers. Which is never a bad thing!

Finished Objects: Baby Leg Warmers

2011-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

While the baby bug hasn't hit me, it seems to be getting those around me. A friend of mine from work recently had her third daughter and I managed to finish these baby leg warmers for her before the little girl joined her family.

The legwarmers were done in a 2x2 ribbing, just under a foot long so the baby cold grow into them a little bit. There are a few mistakes in these, but overall, they came out well and they look stretchy and cozy.

I used some of the leftover yarn to make a baby hat, and before I finished I got it into my head to make it like a gnome hat. I'm not sure if I hit the mark, but it is a cute stockinette stitch hat. I do have to weave in the ends, which I'll probably do when I get back from my trip this week.

I have a little bit of yarn left over from this ball, and I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it. I could make a pair of baby socks, or I could use it to make a cozy for something (iPod, eReader, phone, etc.). I'll have to think on this.

Wamego Winter Woolfest

2011-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I got to attend a rare fiber festival in my area, the Wamego Winter Woolfest. I say rare, because it seems like we have a lack of good festivals in Kansas. Or maybe I'm just not hearing about them. This one was pretty hopping when we got there, and they had several classes. I didn't participate in any, because they day was already pretty full, but I did get some random pictures of the event.

I picked up two hanks of Alpaca/silk blend to knit myself a scarf and a hank of hand dyed Merino to knit my friend a pair of socks for her birthday. I rarely splurge on yarn, but I felt that the day and the event called for it. This might be my splurge of at least the first half of the year.

Goodreads: Furies of Calderon

2011-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having read Butcher's Dresden File novels, I decided to give his Codex Alera series a try. My husband is reading them for the second time, and even though I tend to be intimidated by fantasy novels, I gave it a shot.

I loved this first book of the series. It has action that I can follow, romance that isn't over the top, cool magics, likable and unlikable characters. Even the bad guys are sometimes likable, because Butcher rarely makes his characters all dark or all light. And he does it well. In his fashion, there's also a good dose of humor and then some tragedy.

This book seemed a bit more intense than the earlier Dresden Books (I have to catch up on the later ones) and more graphic. I'm not complaining. I like intense and graphic anyway, and in this case, it just enhanced the reading experience.

View all my reviews

Me & My Money - The Intro to a Journey of Cheapness

2011-01-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Let's get started, shall we?

I fight with money. I generally hate it, but that's only when I don't have any. Which is normal for me. I've never been good with money. I have phases that last usually no more than 4 months in which I have it together. I'm budgeted, I'm balanced, I'm worry free. Then something happens and I'm reminded of how I failed to save, failed to track my spending, failed to record something in my checkbook that I should have.

It's been very frustrating and now it's not just my money I have to help manage. After a two and a half year long distance relationship, my boyfriend and I are finally together. Now we're dealing with two of us that have money issues. We're both spenders. Neither of us knows how to budget for ourselves. And now we're in this together, which means we're either going to drag each other further downhill or we're going to work together to be financially free and comfortable.

At the present time, neither of us are working. He's a college student and I just moved here. I'm hoping to have a steady job by the beginning of next week and after this week of classes, his job search efforts will be going in full force. We have one car between us and right now, I'm the only one with a drivers license. Which can be good and bad as far as the price of gas goes and what we're willing to do. At this point, I'm willing to try anything, especially because the only money we currently have is 17 dollars on a Wal-Mart gift card and 25 dollars in cash that I'm trying not to spend until I absolutely have to.

I'm not getting down about it though. Life has a way of working out, so between trying to live cheaply, we're also going to try to make money where we can. Jobs are around the corner. My goal is to live frugally past getting jobs though. I want to have a savings account, I want to be able to pay my bills, and I don't want to have to freak out if the car breaks down or something comes up. I also want to be able to go on dates, do dinner with friends, and take trips throughout the year.

Blogging about it will hopefully keep me on track, which is the main reason I'm doing it. I'm making it public in the hopes of getting input from others and maybe giving some useful hints to others along the way. Here's to the first step in making myself into a self made cheapskate!

This was originally published on "Stretching a Dollar" on May 6, 2008.

I Wasn't Really Meant to Cook....

2011-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

It was such a joke in our family...I'd never be one to cook a meal. My grandmother cooked large italian dinners and my mom wasn't too bad in the kitchen either. I, however, wasn't much good beyond Ramen noodles and peanut butter toast. I had no idea how to cut up an onion and I'm still not too sure of how to make a good egg.

I even had to call my grandma last weekend to find out how to make a whipped fruit salad.

This never bothered me really. I didn't want to be in the kitchen. I was awkward there and didn't know a wok from a skillet. It was much easier to just hit a drive thru or order a pizza, and when money got tight, frozen dinners and hot pockets were my best friend. There's been a few times I'd cooked or baked something, but I always ended on a stressed note and a lack of motivation to clean up the kitchen.

In May, I moved on the little bit of money I had left and realized that I had to suck it up and learn some skills. Fast food is expensive. I had to be creative and let's face it...how creative can one really be when you're dealing with frozen food and peanut butter and jelly? So I started small, bought a couple cookbooks, surfed a few websites, and broke out the crockpot. It wasn't long before I was cooking on the stovetop and the oven. Believe it or not, I'm actually up to cutting onions.

Though I go through phases where I don't necessarily want to cook, when I am doing it, I love it. I love not having to think of anything but the food and I love the sense of accomplishment I get from a meal well cooked.

Inspired by the masses of cool blogs and recipes I've been finding lately, as well as my new little "hobby" of taking pictures of the food I cook and some that I just eat, I've decided to start my own food blog. Mostly, I want a record of the recipes I try so I can use them at a later date. It's also fun to share with friends and let's face it...I love to blog. So here we go. I don't guarantee something everyday, but there may be days filled with stuff (weekends).

Let's see how this goes...

This was originally published on "Never Meant for the Kitchen" on 12/16/08. I've definitely come a long way since then. One thing that hits me about this post is how I talk about having just talked to my grandmother, who passed away in 2009.

January Resolutions

2011-01-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's a brand new year and everyone is making their 2011 resolutions. I don't normally make resolutions, because then I just feel bad when I give them up in February. However, I have decided to do something this year in celebration of the year 2011 (which has yet to actually prove if it's going to be one to celebrate or not).

A few weeks back I was doing weekly goals and updating about them. I fell off that wagon, but cramming a list of things into a week tends to be kind of overwhelming. I decided to take the goal idea and merge it with the concept of resolutions with a monthly resolution list. This isn't to say I can't reuse resolutions, it just breaks the longer term things up into bite size goals that might be easier to achieve.

I've got my list of January Resolutions made already, and most of them are hobby related. Some are time sensitive and some are ones that I will hopefully carry over into the next month. Some are just for fun.

Write DnD game for Tengaicon
Walk 20 days for 30 minutes for the January 2011 Fitness Kickoff Challenge
Finish the first three books in the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
Finish Lego HP
Watch two horror films from my Netflix queue
Track everything spent in the checkbook
Write 4 content articles
Log 15 hours on ChaCha
Write and schedule blogs on a three times a week basis. I'll be pulling old ones from my old blogs in order to get rid of them this year.
Get going as a consultant for Passion Parties.

I'll also be taking a mid month road trip to help some good friends of mine move from Michigan to Oklahoma, attending a small fiber festival close to hear and enjoying a day of gaming at the above mentioned Tengaicon.

It's going to be a pretty busy start to the new year.

Bring it on!

ALF

Goodreads: Jane Eyre

2010-12-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't actually expect to like this book. I'd tried reading some "classics" in my younger years and found them boring, so, always the hedonist, I avoided them. But when I got my new eReader that came preloaded with a bunch of classic stories, I decided to give them a try.

Most already know the story of Jane Eyre: young girl goes to the home of an older man to be governess to his young ward, falls in love with him, finds out about his secret, etc. etc. I won't give the secret just in case there is someone out there who hasn't read it.

What the story comes down to is love, certainly, but also a quest for womanly independence. The writing style is loftier than anything we have now, but the story is good and I found that now that I'm older, I followed it easily as compared to when I was a pre-teen. There were some moments that seemed to drag on, and dialogue tended to be overdramatic, but it was a sign of the times for writing.

Recommended read, definitely!

View all my reviews

Successful Date Night

2010-12-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

J and I had a rare date night last night. We don't usually go out and do things in a "date" way, mostly because we're happy just hanging out at home. But we'd been talking about going to see "Tangled" for a couple weeks, so instead of coming home after work and getting lazy, we went out and just DID stuff. Together. Which isn't to say we never do stuff together, but we made last night "official."

So how did it go? Pretty well. We went to Panera Bread, which was a little bit of a disappointment. They didn't have bread bowls for soup and they wouldn't take the gift card I'd gotten from work. The portions were alot smaller than I remembered too. We laughed about how small J's sandwich was, but the truth is, I don't even think you could call it a half sandwich. Maybe more like a quarter sandwich.

We killed time by going to Target to check out their eReader selection. It was nonexistent.

The movie, however, was great. I don't think I've ever been to the movie theater to see a Disney movie. We only watched it in 2D but that was just fine. Most 3D movies anymore say they're 3D, but there are only a handful that are really worth the 3D experience. For once, there were no obnoxious people in the theater, and everyone else seemed to be enjoying the movie as much as we were. After we got home, J read some reviews that seemed to indicate that this movie wasn't as well received as some of them. Which is okay...everyone is entitled to their opinion. My opinion is that some people have really dumb opinions, and not because they did or didn't like it. Some of the reasoning behind why they didn't like it was just idiotic.

But I won't be negative. I loved the movie and will probably buy it on DVD unless it comes on Netflix and then I'll just watch the heck out of it.

Date night: success. Who knows when we'll actually do it again, though.

ALF

On the Subject of Happiness

2010-12-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

In the formative years, I wanted to be happy. Whenever I had to blow candles out on a cake or make a wish for any other reason, it was to just "to be happy." This makes me sound like a miserable child, and I did have a few rough patches, especially in elementary and junior high. I actually look back on high school with fond memories and I consider my college years to have been an amazing time in my life. Happiness always came and went, sometimes quickly, sometimes staying for awhile. There were times when I thought I was happy and I wasn't. There was also times when I thought I was miserable and was actually fairly content, at least relative to what else was going on around me.

The focus on happiness in the latest issue of Real Simple got me thinking about it. A few years ago, the subject of making a wish came up and I didn't know what to wish for because truthfully, I was happy. And still am. That's not to say I don't have horribly bad days. I can be angry and hateful. There are a few areas of my life that I'm not particularly happy with. I still tend to be moody, and I take my Happy Pills religiously to keep myself from freaking out.

The article talked about how happiness comes in small doses, not just huge ones, and instant gratification happiness doesn't always last long. Getting married? Huge shot of happiness, and one that keeps on making me happy. That's because I have an amazing husband who actually gives me little moments of happiness. Going to GenCon this past year? Again, big dose of happy made up of all sorts of little ones. Seeing my family? This is always a mixed bag depending on what's going on, but it's generally little momentary doses during the time we spend together.

Growing up, I somehow got to this point of realizing that I don't need to have a huge helping of 'yay' delivered to me on a platter, I just need to learn to savor the small bites and enjoy them while they last. I think alot of people know this, but as someone who used to think I couldn't be happy until I lost all the weight or had all the things I wanted or had the perfect job, it really hits home for me. I don't have, or haven't done, any of that. But even on my worse days, I can find something that brings me joy.

In preparing for the New Year and the resolutions that come with it, I'm thinking of starting a daily happiness blog, just to find one thing in my day that makes me happy. Once it's up, I'll link it if anyone wants to follow.

ALF

Social Networking for All Corners of Life

2010-12-18T22:47:00.000-08:00

In a conversation with co-workers the other day that started with some talk about Tumblr, I ended up facing the fact that I have a little bit of a social network addiction.

To be fair, not all of the sites I do stuff on are social network sites. Some are blog sites, but I tend to think of blogging as just another way of social networking (even though none of my blogs extend far enough to be considered as such). Two of them are actually article writing sites that could be considered as ‘work’ sites other than social sites. To some extent though, even those are social, considering you can comment and be commented on.

When my mind is organized, I feel the need to compartmentalize my life, even if I overlap at all corners. I like to have my site to log what I’m reading, watching, listening to, or eating (www.allconsuming.net). I like writing reviews/opinions/rants about books and finding new books and authors to read (www.goodreads.com). I like sharing my knitting projects and collecting knitting patterns (www.ravelry.com). Then I like exhibiting it for others to see on a bunch of other sites, most that link into each other so my poor friends are spammed with my life.

I suppose it’s good that I go through phases where I do very little online, or I might have a lot fewer friends.

Here is the full list of my current (semi) active accounts and my name on each. Feel free to friend, add, follow, etc. me.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lifewithfelber

Tumblr: http://lifewithfelber.tumblr.com

Facebook: Amanda Lynne Felber (if you add me here, shoot me and email or message or comment to let me know you’re doing it. If I don’t know you, I won’t add).

Plurk: http://www.plurk.com/felbersgirl/invite

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LiveJournal: message me for details. I consider this my private journal, so for personal and professional reasons, I might not add everyone. Don’t take it personally. It’s just my thing.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/193580

All Consuming: I don't think I have a link for this, but if you're on there, I'm felbersgirl.

Triond: No page yet, but I'll continue to post articles.

Associated Content: http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/15114/amanda_sposato.html

I suppose as far as addictions go, this is a pretty minor one, but it does mean spamming everyone. So while I'd love to have more friends and followers, I can also respect that a few of you might want to go ahead and defriend me.

ALF

Goodreads: Shades of Green

2010-12-18T14:02:00.001-08:00

Shades of Green by Ian Woodhead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Shades of Green" is a horror novel that gave me bits and pieces of Lovecraft nostalgia while drawing me in and giving me a real story I could sink my teeth in. I'm not comparing Woodhead to Lovecraft, however, because Woodhead has carved himself a definite niche in the horror genre that's a little unlike anyone else out there.

From the first scene, the story takes on a detached, dreamlike quality. Brothers Alan and Damien stumble across strange happenings in the forest, only to wake up to the possibility that it might have been a dream. Damien's girlfriend Jennifer is seeing signs of a strange transformation in her brother Tony. Some of the older citizens of the town of Holburn are visited by their past sins, and the town becomes infested with a sinister plant invasion that turns people into hideous creatures. It's up to Jennifer and Damien to figure out what's going on and to survive with the help of Alan, the obsessive compulsive brother who gains the ability to invade their minds and see and feel through them. Does he hold the secret to the plant infestation?

No spoilers here, as I think my fellow horror fans should give this one a read. Ian Woodhead takes several mysterious scenes and weaves them together to tell a full story. Don't let any initial confusion deter you from finishing. The journey is worth it. The horror scenes are great, relying on disturbing imagery rather than outright gore to entertain, and there's definitely a "can't put it down" factor to the book.

The only criticism I can give is that some of the punctuation and grammar seemed to be a little off, though I realized in some places this was a matter of dialect and regional writing that I wasn't used to. The issues didn't take away from the enjoyability of the story. This one is recommended and I definitely want to read more by this author.

View all my reviews

The Sixth Day of the Work Week

2010-12-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

I decided to approach today a little bit differently than I do most Saturdays. Instead of wandering around, not sure of what to do, going from one thing to another and never actually getting anything accomplished, I treated today like another work day. I did this in part because I'm taking on new ventures, many revolving around writing and work from home ventures, and I wanted to see how it would work to schedule everything into a day in-house.

I started out by checking email and responding to Facebook (didn't get around to Twitter, though). From there, I looked online to find some new ventures and applied to a freelance proofreading website to start a profile. This took a couple hours, so I took a break when that was done, and the break consisted of doing some dishes and stretching my legs. Then it was back for some ChaCha guiding, which I was actually able to focus on for awhile (getting closer to my eReader). Took a lunch break a little after noon, then went back to do some more ChaCha and finish and article. It was here that I started getting sidetracked by internet curiosities and Lego Harry Potter. But I reined it in and finished the day off with some extra ChaCha. To make up for the lost time, I did some content promotion tonight.

For the first time in awhile, I actually feel like I got something accomplished, so tonight we're going to watch a movie and I'm going to kick back and enjoy some knitting and crocheting. Maybe treating weekends like a schedule workday will make me feel better and more productive. I'm not sure how to approach Sundays, but maybe I'll try it the same way, or at least for half a day.

Now onto some yarn and Scott Pilgrim!

ALF

Alternative Entertainment

2010-12-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

Once in awhile, J and I have to tighten the purse strings, and the tightening isn't conducive to certain frou frou things. Like Netflix. Until my payday next week, or until some magic money falls into our laps and bank account, we will be without Netflix.

This doesn't really bug me. Netflix is our main source of TV, but I've gone through long periods of time without television. We have our DVD collection, Hulu, and other websites that stream television shows. Netflix just makes it easier to pick and organize.

This will be a short break, since payday is only a few days away, but it will take us over the long hump of the weekend. So I'm thinking of alternative forms of entertainment in lieu of Instant View. I'm going to revisit some old favorites from our DVD stash, including "Secretary," which is one of my all time favorite movies. I'm also going to catch up on my podcast collection, which will actually take awhile since I have alot of back episodes of several shows to catch up on. This will also be a good time to do some more song sorting and rating in iTunes.

Those are back up things for when I'm ChaCha-ing or knitting. I can also finish the two books I've started reading and start playing Harry Potter on the XBox, which I should probably do anyway since we got it from Gamefly a few weeks ago and I've yet to even take it out of the envelope. This might also be a good time to go ahead and clean. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Xmas decorating is going to happen this year, but maybe I can start the New Year by decluttering and organizing.

Good intentions, like always.

ALF

Time Management

2010-12-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

I have weak time management skills. Forget about the fact that I did a seminar on time management in college, or the fact that I have no excuse not to get things done. I might be learning to keep my finances in order, but my time usage is still all over the place.

Today at work, I lost 8 hours. I got things done, but part of me thinks I could have gotten more done if I'd planned better. Tonight at home, I managed to write and ChaCha, but I didn't get any knitting done nor did I finish the book I was reading like I was thinking about doing this afternoon. Some nights I can cram all kinds of things into a few hours. Other nights, the clock hits 11:00, I'm sleepy, and I realize that there was all kinds of things I'd meant to do, but just didn't.

If I'd have just answered a few more questions, I'd be that much closer to my eReader.

If I'd have just stopped to knit a little more, I could have my current knitting project done.

If I'd just get my camera out and take the pictures I want to, I'd actually have interesting things to blog about.

And so on and so forth. Procrastination kicks my butt every time, and somewhere in my mental makeup, I'm constantly kicking myself for what I don't get done. But tomorrow is a new day with more chances to put stuff off until the last minute. It's another chance to let the internet suck my time, to think about all the things I should be doing, and to create a pile of chaos around me in the things not getting done.

So yay for tomorrow!

ALF

Secondary Jobs

2010-12-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Considering I slept in until 2 today and suffered with some bad back pain, I still managed to get some things accomplished in the realm of what I'm starting to think of as my secondary jobs. Doing these jobs makes me wonder if I would ever have the motivation to actually try working from home. I know a few people who do it, and I'm envious that they find the self drive to get anything done.

I like my little secondary jobs, but I don't think they'd ever pay the rent, at least not with what I'm doing right now. The first of my secondary jobs, and one that I've been doing for several years, is as a content writer. I started with Associated Content shortly after I moved from Sault Ste. Marie as a way to bring in a little extra income. It wasn't alot of income by any means. I think the most I ever got for an upfront payment was ten dollars. But over time, I've built up a nice little portfolio of articles, and the page view payments have been nice, bringing me an extra thirty to forty dollars a month. More recently, I've started writing content for Triond. When I first started at that site, I gave up after a few articles, realizing that I was only pulling in about 3 cents per month. Recently, I revisited and realized that I needed to change my outlook a little bit. When you find what people are searching for, you can get alot of page views by tweaking your topics. I can still write about what I want and get a few cents per article if I promote what I'm writing (thank you Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr). In a couple weeks, I've gone from 3 cents a month to 54 cents a month. It's not alot, but it's proof that my articles are being read and that the more I write, the better chances I have of bringing in money.

The second "secondary" job is as a ChaCha expeditor. I gave this a try after hearing some people talk about it. Again, this isn't a job that's going to make you rich, and it can be tedious. But it can also be addictive if you're in the right frame of mind. For anyone who's ever lost two or three hours on Yahoo! Answers, it's the same idea, only you're making a couple cents for every question you answer. There are other jobs at ChaCha, including generalists/specialists and voice expeditors, and the different jobs pay at different rates. A couple friends of mine are generalists/specialists (a job I don't envy because I've seen some of the questions we expeditors send them...). ChaCha only pays at $150 which seems like a bum deal, but if it's not money you're counting on as part of your budget, then the pay cycle doesn't matter so much. I have yet to receive a payment from them, but I'm getting there. In fact, I've already decided that this "unbudgeted" money is going towards the eReader I want (as long as everything else is paid up at the time).

I have this fantasy of working from home in my pajamas, but realistically, I'm not sure if I could give up my 8 to 5. Besides the stability of having a steady paycheck, I need an outside source of motivation. While I can self motivate for a short time, I tend to lose interest in things really fast. Those of you who've known me for awhile know that I've gone through other writing phases only to drop off after a few months and remain silent for as long as a couple years. While ChaCha is great while I'm working toward a goal, if I don't keep that in mind, I won't commit any time to answering questions.

It may be possible in the future to try to work from home, but right now I'm going to continue working by day, writing and ChaCha-ing by night. Also...and I'm not going to say much about it at this point...after the New Year I'm going to be trying out another business venture with a friend of mine. It's not something I ever thought I'd do, nor am I sure I'm going to last long term, but I'm willing to take the risk for it. Trust me...once it happens, everyone will know about it.

On that note, it's time to go get some sleep in prep for my day job. Everyone have a happy Monday and a great week!

ALF

Knitting, Leftovers, and Other Mishaps

2010-11-26T20:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a very long day, one which started at around 6 this morning. Luckily, my father in law drove to Texas so I got to relax in the backseat with my knitting and my iPod. It was so nice. I like driving, but it's good to have a break once in awhile. We made good time, only coming into one traffic jam due to an accident in Fort Worth, and made it to the family by 1:00 pm where leftovers from yesterday were ready for lunch.

The day is as one would expect following the death of a loved one. There's alot of food, there's alot of family time. We got a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express and are just now getting a chance to really sit back and relax before tomorrow. I've been knitting pretty much non-stop because it helps keep me calm. Even with my happy pills, this is a pretty anxiety inducing situation. I've finished two washcloths and decided to make a scarf to keep things fresh.

Tonight was the viewing. We survived, though it was heartbreaking to watch J's grandmother say goodbye to her husband. I cried, which lead to a nosebleed, which lead to big stain on the shirt I wore, so if anyone knows a good way to get out blood stains, please let me know. After that, it was back for more family time, more eating, and more knitting. For not thinking we were going to have a Thanksgiving dinner, we've now officially had one four times.

Tomorrow is going to be another long one, so I'm off to get some rest. Night all!

ALF

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

Besides being thankful for making it down to Wichita safe and sound, I spent some time thinking about all the things I'm thankful for. I realize this is something I should do every day, and I usually do, it's just rare that I write about it. But since it's Thanksgiving, here's my general list of happy thankfulness.

1. My husband - When I think about how J and I met, I have to believe that there's a God with a plan, because there's no way I could be that lucky. He's the sweetest, coolest guy I know. He's my best friend and we have so much fun together. I don't think a day hasn't gone by that he hasn't made me laugh for some reason or another, even when I'm in a horrible mood or completely depressed. Haters gonna hate, but we have never had a fight. We've had some arguments, and I've had some "mood swings," but even through those, he's always been patient and we don't usually let an hour pass before we talk and make up. Even our worst argument just brought us closer together.

2. My family - My family has given me so much to be grateful for. Even the hard times have their place in my gratitude because they made me the person I am today. I'm thankful to have a mom who's one of my closest friends, a dad who I can now talk to comfortably and be proud of, a brother and a sister who have turned out to be responsible young adults with amazing families, including my two nephews who are adorable and smart. They might never get to know their Aunt Mandy, but I love them just the same and feel blessed to have them. I'm thankful for all my aunts and uncles and my grandparents, all of who have taught me so much in my 32 years and have added to who I am today.

3. My friends - It doesn't matter if I talk to them everyday, occasionally comment on their Facebook, or have lost touch with them completely, I'm thankful for all the friends who've come in and out of my life. Everyone one of them has touched me in some way and I'd like to think that I've had a small positive impact on their lives as well. They have given me so many experiences and memories, all of which make up my unique history. It's these memories that make me happy with who I am, despite all the "improvements" I could use.

And some more that don't need as much description...

4. My in-laws, who have welcomed me into their lives,
5. My job, because it pays my bills and makes me feel productive,
6. My pets, because they don't judge and have their own personalities (even if those personalities are a product of my imagination),
7. My computer (or in this case, computers as an entity), because it allows me to continue to keep in touch with so many great people.

Hope you all had a wonderful, full Thanksgiving!

ALF

A Time to Be Thankful, In Spite of a Great Loss

2010-11-24T23:49:00.000-08:00

This long Thanksgiving weekend will not be spent as J and I and much of his family had planned. Tomorrow night we'll be heading to Wichita, and Friday morning we'll be heading down to Texas to both mourn the death and celebrate the life of J's grandfather who passed away Tuesday evening.

I only knew this man for a short time, but the little bit I knew was pretty amazing. He'd raised a family of great people with wonderful values who in turn gave him good grandchildren and great grandchildren. He loved alot and was loved in return. He survived cancer twice, and at 80 something years old had a head of hair that most men in their 30s would covet. He was always so nice to me, and I'd watch him with his family and I could always tell how much he loved just being with them. He was a quiet man, but there are things one can see even if they're not being said. I only saw him a handful of times, but I never saw him get angry or upset about anything. I saw someone who was generous, who helped his grandkids even if they didn't admit to needing it. I watched him stay strong when J's mother passed away. More recently, J and I celebrated our marriage with him and the rest of the family, and I felt truly welcomed by him as a member of the family.

I don't know if there's actually a thing as a "good death," but there are natural deaths and there are tragic deaths. Papa Dan went naturally after living a good long life. There are so many good memories of him, memories that I wasn't around for but which I know I'll get to hear told, if not this weekend, then another time when I get together with my in-laws. Like the passing of my own grandfathers, this will leave it's mark on me, for better or worse. That mark might not be as strong as it is with the rest of his family, but it's no less significant.

The holidays can be lonely, but I encourage everyone thinking of their loved ones this season to be grateful for everything they gave you during their lifetime and the lessons they taught even after they left this world to move on to a better one.

ALF

The Quest to Be a Responsible Adult

2010-11-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

In "I no longer have an excuse not to blog" news, J got his own computer. In the awesome tradition of frugal bartering, he traded his huge, not working laptop for a small, happy little Netbook that he can take wherever he goes. Sort of. The battery doesn't work well, so he needs to get that replaced, but the verdict on the whole trade is "Success." Have I mentioned how much I love Craigslist?

So now I have full use of my own laptop, which means the "I didn't blog because I was letting my husband use the computer" line won't stand. Having said that, I'm good at finding excuses, so there could be any other number of reasons for me being gone, but for now, I'm going to attempt to get my writing act together.

There really hasn't been anything huge to write about except for the fact that I've decided to try to be more responsible with my finances. I've been doing well for about three weeks now. My problem has always been twofold: Laziness at tracking my purchases and the need for instant gratification. Even when I thought I had it under control, I realized how half heartedly I was doing things and something would inevitably come back to bite me and cause huge issues in the accounts.

I was finally faced with an issue that I had to take care of, and the only way I'd be able to take care of it was to figure out my finances and get on a plan. So I set down with everything I had, bills, income, and my checkbook and figured out how things were going to work for the next few months. I think the "I really need to do this moment" came when I realized that if we're careful with our spending, we can be ahead as soon as January. Not hugely ahead, but enough so that all the bills are paid and I'm not scrambling to pay anything, nor am I letting my phone or internet get shut off.

So far so good. As long as I check and double check my work and not spend money on stupid stuff, things seem to be alright. We're still not 100% where we want to be, but then again, we're not even into December yet. What strikes me is how content I am not to be spending money and eating out all the time. I'm enjoying cooking meals at home and most of the time I realize I don't actually have to buy anything since I have pretty much everything I need at home to keep me busy, including my computer, enough stash yarn to keep me knitting for probably the next year, and a stack of books waiting to be read (plus a library card if I ever get through those).

My plan is to be able to travel more in 2011 and beyond. Already on our travel wishlist are trips to Omaha, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, and Colorado/Dodge City. If we save on our regular income, we can do it I think, and that's not counting extra money from writing and ChaCha. Overall, I'm feeling pretty darn good about our financial future. Who knows? Maybe I'm finally going to grow up.

Acting my age, though, is a whole other thing entirely.

ALF

Weekly Goals Recap (11/4)

2010-11-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

I think the whole goal thing worked out this past week! I didn’t actually meet all my goals, but they did give me something to work towards and helped me stay focused when I was feeling overwhelmed. Here’s the recap:

Stay away from pop! - I didn’t completely cut pop out, but I did cut way back. In a week, I only purchased one can of soda from the work vending machine as opposed to the 3-5 I was drinking. I drank a little more over the weekend, but I also drank a lot of water and tea too, so I tried to make it even out. I consider this goal reached!

Use the food we have in the house for meals – With the exception of one night, we actually did this. Talk about getting creative. It helped though that we had friends who hooked us up with pizza or food at various parties and get togethers. Tuesday night we weren’t feeling really creative, so we took some of the leftover laundry money and bought hot dogs. Even with that one night, I’m considering this goal reached.

Take all my lunches and to get away from my desk for at least half of my lunch hour – I did this everyday and found that it really did help. I wasn’t as tired or stressed in the afternoon.

Finish unpacking and find a nook or cranny for everything I brought back from vacation - I sort of finished this. I think I have one bag of washrags and towels that haven't been put away, but I think they'll be collateral stuff during the bedroom cleaning.

Finish "Resident Evil 5" – I didn’t reach this goal, but I don’t feel too bad about it. The last fight was extremely annoying, and it bothered me that the rest of the game had been minimally challenging, and all of a sudden I can’t beat this final thing. I understand it was supposed to be harder, but after about forty times, I just gave up. I like finishing a game, but I like not being angry more.

Complete 2 scarves – Done! I finished the last drop stitch scarf in Homespun that I think I’m going to do for awhile and I finished a pink scarf for a friend’s little girl. It came out great, so I’m working on another for another friend’s little girl. Pink seems to be what the kids are into these days.

Finish "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon – I finally finished this. I found to be pretty boring though, so it seemed to take forever.

Not a bad week overall, so I’m going to do another set of goals for this coming week, but in a different post.

ALF

Goal Setting

2010-10-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

On vacation, I had some time to kick back and recharge, and I'm thinking I need to start making small changes in several areas of life rather than continuing to try big changes in just a few. This feels kind of overwhelming, but I think it might make things a little more balanced for me. The trick will be to focus on the most important areas and set a weekly goal. For me, the most important areas are health, money, stress, environment, and other (being the things I want to accomplish that fall into the general hobby realm).

For this coming week (Th to Th), I've decided on the following goals:

Health - Stay away from pop! I found out that aspartame makes me sick and regular pop has too much sugar and calories in it, so I'm going to try to say 'no' to soda as much as possible. Today has been good so far. I've drank a ton of water, two cups of coffee, and have a packet of hot cocoa for my afternoon beverage. A financial benefit is that I'm not spending money on pop from the work vending machines.

Money - After completing a budget yesterday, if we stay frugal and not do anything crazy, we can be slightly ahead by the beginning of the year. My goal this coming week is use the food we have in the house for meals and holding off on groceries until next week when I'll have a better idea of "wiggle room" after both J and I get our paychecks. This is going to mean alot of creativity and alot of Ramen, but it's doable.

Stress - The main source of my stress is work, so this week, I'm going to make it a point to take all my lunches and to get away from my desk for at least half of my lunch hour. This includes Mondays, which are our busiest days of the week.

Environment - My apartment is in a constant state of chaos and I'm constantly saying "I need to clean my house." Besides keeping up on the basics (trash, laundry, dishes), I want to start getting the bigger stuff in order. This week, my goal is going to finish unpacking and find a nook or cranny for everything I brought back from vacation (didn't have to buy anything...my family is awesome and gave me all kinds of nifty things).

Other - This is the fun stuff and could probably just be renamed Hobbies (or "Fun Stuff"). This week, I need...and this has become an obsession...to finish "Resident Evil 5." It's a fairly annoying game, but I'm to the last or the second to the last fight and so it would be silly of me to give up now (even if I am playing at the lowest difficulty level). I also have two scarf projects I want to complete, and I want to finish the book I started reading, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon.

Next Thursday I will hopefully have an update on how these goals go and have new ones for the following week.

ALF

Oohhhhklahoma!

2010-10-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

This past week was spent in Oklahoma, visiting with family and spending time with my mom who flew down from Michigan. I picked her up in Kansas City last Tuesday, and on Wednesday we headed to McAlester, OK to see the maternal side of my family. It was alot of driving but it was so worth it! Oklahoma is beautiful. I'm in a small majority who believes this, but I don't care. I loved OK when I lived there and I miss it. This trip strengthened my desire to move back there someday.

We stayed at my grandma's house, which is incidentally the house she grew up in, so it always feels so old fashioned to me, but in a good way. We visited with her the first day. On the second day, we took a drive to Shawnee to visit my Aunt Doris and do lunch at Cracker Barrel, where I tried catfish for the first time. It was actually pretty good, though I was warned that catfish that's not farm raised is a bit fishier. Grandma drove, which was nice, and I got some actual road trip knitting done.

On Friday we hung out at my Aunt Sue's house, visiting her, my Uncle Sonny, and his wife Shirley. More knitting time for me. As much as I like being around my family, I very rarely have anything to add to the conversation, so I'm pretty quiet. Knitting kept me from feeling awkward. That night we went and visited with my mom's brother and his wife. Lauren is such a sweetheart and an amazing cook. She made our meals all week, and I know feel the need to find a way to duplicate her breakfast quiche, her banana pudding, and her manicotti. In exchange, I helped her with some knitting.

We visited another aunt, did dinner at Sue's again, got lost in McAlester, and spent some more time with Monte and Lauren. I bonded with family and finished a pair of socks for Mom. I even got a little tipsy on German beer on Saturday night. It was good to get away and see people, and it was great for my mom who hasn't seen her family in several years.

Unfortunately, I had to take her to the airport today and end our time together. I've been pretty sad today, but all good things come to an end. Like most quality times with family, there was alot of laughing, a few tears, and some great home cooked foods.

Now, I have to look forward to the next few months and the holidays. My goals for the next couple of months are to get our finances in order and caught up on a few straggler bills. Nanowrimo starts Monday, and I'm ready to get the concept in my head down in story form. I have three parties to plan or help plan, a bunch of knitting to do, and some cleaning and organizing. I'm also going to give online writing a chance over at Triond. It feels a little more laid back than AC, so I'm going to try to get some chain of thought words on specific topics written over there for some page hit goodness.

Good to be back!

ALF

Slow Cooker Love Affair

2010-10-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my slow cooker and I spent some quality time together. Meaning I used it and it cooked my dinner. But oh what dinners it made. I should say here and now that I'm proud of myself for just pulling it out of the cabinet. J and I go through phases where we're really good about cooking and other phases where the key word is takeout. A home cooked meal though is better than fast food any day, and even better when I don't have to do much to make it.

Saturday was Slow Cooker Corn Chowder. We were up early that day anyway since J had a work meeting, so I was able to set this cooking really early in the morning.

Instead of the bouillion I used a can of chicken broth and instead of ham I used smoked sausage. It gave it a good flavor but had a rubbery texture after sitting all day, so next time I might fry it up before putting it in. I skipped the celery and added good dose of garlic powder for some extra seasoning. We scored a day old bakery loaf of french bread at Dillons for 69 cents which we used in place of crackers. Let me tell ya...this was amazing! J doesn't even like corn all that much and he was impressed. Even though I cut the recipe down quite a bit, we still got two meals out of this, and the total cost, including the french bread, was about six bucks.

On Sunday, I made chili for what I think was the first time ever. I didn't even used to like chili, but these days it's one of my favorite things. The basic recipe I used can be found here, but like normal, I made quite a few changes. I was originally going to use ground turkey like this calls for, but the best place in town to get it is Aldi, and I didn't quite make it there, so we used beef instead. We had every intention of using the can of tomato soup the recipe called for but we accidentally picked up a can of chicken noodle instead of tomato and didn't realize it until we got home. Instead of going back, we improvised and used about a half can of leftover salsa and a half can of ketchup. I also didn't have an onion because I accidentally through what I had away, so I used a bunch of seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, and southwest seasoning cooked during the meat browning, and then salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and allspice in the crockpot. I also added a can of green chilies and omitted the ground cumin.

No pictures, unfortunately, but this chili was so good. We had it with crackers, sour cream, and cheese and again, it made another meal (though I let J have it for a lunch and dinner). Next time, I'm going to make a double batch and either freeze some or just have leftovers for a couple days because honestly? I loved it! I'm even considering entering this recipe into work's annual chili cook off this year. And in the tradition of chili, it was really cheap. If you count everything, including the toppings and crackers, the whole thing was about 8 bucks, and it would have been cheaper if we'd shopped at Aldi for ingredients.

I could definitely get used to these crock pot recipes for the weekend. It makes being lazy all that easier.

ALF

Konza Prairie Reptile Show

2010-10-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September, J and I went to the Konza Reptile Show, an annual event in MHK. For anyone who doesn't know, I love reptiles. I've always kind of thought they were cute, but a couple years ago we had a roommate who was a big snake enthusiast. He got us into them and we ended up with a few of our own. In fact, at one time we had five of them. With the move into the smaller apartment, we downsized to two boas, but we love looking, so this show was right up our alley.

If you're squeamish about snakes, better stop here.

This guy was one of two tortoises there. Turtles and tortoises are so cute. I get a little upset whenever I see a little turtle trying to cross the busy highway somewhere.

J once brought up the idea of a pet alligator. I like snakes, but there's no way I'm having a big chomper that would likely think of me as a substantial meal. However, this little alligator was adorable. If I knew he'd stay that size, I would have considered it.

And finally, in a rare self pic, here I am holding onto a gorgeous albino burmese python. It took two people to get her on my shoulders and then back off, but she was so mellow. If I were stronger, I could have carried her around for a while and she would have just chilled. She was for sale too, but alas, no room in the apartment. Or money for new snakes for that matter.

In the Kitchen: Mexican Shells & Pork Chops

2010-10-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Among other things I'm trying to do more of, cooking at home is high on the priority list to help save money and just feel better about eating. Not to mention that fast food and pizza gets old fast. So does ramen. This past week I made a full menu and grocery list and bought things for a couple meals (more shopping tomorrow at some of the other stores).

Last night, I made Mexican Shells & Pork Chops for an easy Friday night meal. It was a first time recipe for me and it turned out really good.

Mine doesn't look as pretty as the one on the recipe page, but it tasted awesome. J and I aren't big green pepper eaters, so I omitted that. I seasoned the chops with some southwest seasoning and did have to add a little extra water to keep the noodles from cooking to the bottom of the pan.

As far as budgeting, this wasn't really expensive. The pork chops were about a dollar a piece, the shells and cheese were about a buck and a half, and the salsa was around two dollars but only because we forgot to pick it up at the dollar store and picked some up at the convenience store down the road, which was convenient but more expensive. Veggie oil and seasoning were on hand.

Not sure why I never thought of the mac and cheese/salsa combo before. It's delicious!

Blog Fail

2010-10-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm such a fail at blogging and writing in general. You'd think that considering how much I say I love it (and I do when I'm doing it), I'd be so much better at keeping up with it.

Not the case though, sadly. However, I am still here and life is still happening. One of my many excuses for not blogging is that I'm currently sharing a computer with J. A few months back, his broke, and we didn't have the money to fix what we thought was wrong with it. Come to find out, it's actually a much simpler issue and one of the awesome Tech Geniuses I work with believes he can fix it. So yay! It'll still be a couple weeks though. We're waiting for some parts and Tech Genius has to do some work travel next week, but it's all good. Hope is on the horizon.

It's usually just easier for me to let J have the computer, though he gives it to me when I ask and I have full use of it when he's at work. There was a time when I was completely addicted to the internet. A few times actually, some of them leading to all night computer sessions, missed college classes, and pixel hangovers. These days, much like some of my old party girl tendencies, that need to be on the 'net has waned.

I'm still around though and one of these days will get back to blogging regularly. Things are looking to perk up in the next few months and I've started doing some cooking again. I baked for the first time in months last night, and while the thing I baked didn't come out exactly as I'd hoped it would, it just needs a few tweaks and I'll make it again and share some info and pics on here.

ALF

Catching Up

2010-09-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have a few things to blog about still, and they're on their way soon. I promise. As for current mundane stuff, here's a list for anyone who's keeping track.

1. I'm trying to decide if I want to have a Passion Party and/or Scentsy party in the near future. Passion Party is, much like it sounds, an adult themed party for people who want to spice things up a little bit. A Scentsy party is for flameless candles that make your home smell pretty. I have some things coming from E's party and I can't wait to get them. Even if I don't have a party, I'm glad to have stink pretty stuff, especially with the holidays coming on fast.

2. I'm purging a bunch of stuff to make extra room in my house, including clothes, books, some video games, and some other random stuff we don't really need. There's going to be some Craigslist postings and maybe a little extra cash if we can sell some things to the local "buying" merchants. Not too long ago I unloaded a bunch of yarn on some knitting friends, so I think my current stash will remain untouched except by me to knit even more things.

3. My mom is going to be here for a visit in less than a month. She'll get to kick around Manhattan for a couple days but most of that time will be spent in Oklahoma visiting with my grandma and other assorted family members. I'm excited. I think I'm going to try to introduce her to The Boondock Saints, HotPot, and Dr. Horrible.

4. I beat Alan Wake on the XBox. I loved the game and want someone to make a sequel. A good sequel, preferably.

5. I have my NaNoWriMo idea ready for November. The hard part is not starting on it until then, so I'm going to try to channel my energy into working on my other story, "Highest Bidder." I am going to have to give up some of my other writing commitments, unfortunately, because I'm lax on them and have no muse. It also doesn't help that since J and I are sharing a computer, I tend to let him have it more in favor of knitting or reading pursuits.

6. Speaking of reading pursuits, has anyone else read Poppy Z. Brite? I just finished a novel by her that I have yet to write into a Goodreads review, but I'm interested in what others think. If you've read her, leave me a comment and let me know your opinion.

ALF

Stash Busting Like a Boss!

2010-09-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

With four days off over Labor Day weekend, I kicked some stash busting knitting butt. A month or so back, I tried to put myself on a fiber diet and said I'd stop buying yarn until I used up some of my stash. Since I wanted to pick up something at the local Alpaca Festival and in October I want to pick up some new sock yarn when J and I pick my mom up from the airport in Kansas City, I decided to go ahead and try to get a few quick projects done to start paring down my current stash.

First, I finished this Diagonal Lace Scarf. It's acrylic, but it's actually soft and fairly pretty.

Second, I finished the socks for my mom using the THUJA pattern on Knitty.com. Because I used a thicker, stiffer wool, they're more like footies, and I've started referring to them as Mom's Warm Woolies.

Third, I finished the latest washcloth from Rachel's Knitting Room. Nicely textured, I'm adding it to my growing stash of knitted washcloths.

Fourth, I revisited my hat making days and turned out this Star Crossed Slouchy Beret using a small bit of stash yarn and the remaining wool from the Warm Woolies. The color combo came out better than I'd expected and this slouchy hat is so adorable.

Fifth and last, I did another hat, this a Chunky Cable Pattern with some chunky stash yarn. This one is definitely warmer than the beret and maybe more my mom's speed, but I'm going to let her choose from them if she wants a hat at all. I've always hated hats, but these ones kind of make me want to start wearing them. I look silly in hats, but I can almost pull off the beret look. Almost.

My current project is the River Rapids Socks using fingering weight yarn and size 2 needles. I love the pattern and it's just complicated enough to keep me interested but not so complicated I can't still watch something on TV. I figured out something neat, too. When I download a PDF pattern or convert one into PDF from another program, I can load it onto my phone and carry it with me instead of a piece of paper. However, social knitting is going to take something easier I think, so I'm looking at a few wraps and scarves on Ravelry to work on during busy social events.

ALF

From the Queue: "Nip/Tuck" Seasons 1-6

2010-09-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

My long weekend gave me the chance to plow through the rest of the Nip/Tuck series available on Netflix (currently through season 6). I was going to find somewhere online to watch s7, but decided against it as I needed a break and I figure that eventually it'll be on the queue anyway.

For the most part, I loved this series. Not for the characters though. The plot lines were interesting and got weirder as the series went on. Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't seen this series and would eventually like to. Stop here if you want to be surprised.

For anyone not familiar with the premise, the show starts in Miami and centers around two plastic surgeons who own a business together. Christian is womanizing and vain, the Sean is sort of like a lost puppy dog who wants to be a good person but somehow always ends up just being weak. Sean's wife has a thing for Christian, Sean's oldest son turns out to be Christian's kid, Christian's porn star girlfriend is nutso and at some point during the series ends up having an affair with Sean and marrying the oldest son, Matt. Matt's a trainwreck from the very beginning and gets caught up in all sorts of bad situations: older girlfriend turns out to be a transsexual who likes young men, same age girlfriend comes from a white supremacist family, third girlfriend/wife drags him into Scientology, then gets him hooked on meth, then leaves him to be a porn star again, fourth girlfriend ends up being his biological sister, fifth girlfriend is his prison cell mate. When he finally does find someone who seems normal, he leaves her at the alter to run away with the transsexual. Did I also mention he becomes a mime at one point in time?

His storylines are probably the most tragic, but the rest of them are just as messed up. Season 2-3 brings us the Carver storyline, where a serial rapist is disfiguring people. Season 4 has a ring of organ thieves as their main conflict. In season 5, the doctors re-open their business in Beverly Hills and hilarity ensues when Sean takes a role on a television show. The cameos are pretty good in that season, my favorite being Alanis Morisette as Liz Cruz's (the nurse at the practice) short term girlfriend.

For me, the show jumped the shark in season 6. The fun tone from s5 disappeared and it turned into a bunch of dark, angsty plotlines and fighting. Plus, the same storylines seemed to be recycled and the characters were only proving that they were never going to learn anything and were just going to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It was fun the first time around. The second time it was just annoying.

I think season 7 ends it and I do plan on watching that one when it comes on Netflix. Even with the fact of having to crawl through s6, I would definitely recommend this show if you're okay with darker, more graphic shows. Be warned...they show the surgeries so there's alot of cutting, scalpels, and needles. And alot of sex, so send the kids to bed before watching.

ALF

Thursday is the New Friday

2010-09-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Because of the holiday weekend, today is my last day of work for four glorious days. I love long weekends. The plan is to get some things done around the house, get some knitting done, write some things I've been putting off, and completely recharge for next week.

Unfortunately, my hands are hurting today. Carpal tunnel and/or arthritis are making me fairly miserable. I've taken ibuprofen, but it's not like I can rest my hands when my job involves typing and writing. This may put a damper on all my knitting plans too, which really stinks. But I'll keep trucking. Maybe if I just take tonight to rest them I'll be okay for the rest of the weekend to use them.

I'm also going to try to get some new pics up of knitted objects. On Sunday, J and I are going to the Konza Prairie Reptile Show and I should have alot of pics for those of you not creeped out by scaly and slithery cuties. After that is DnD and a planned Applebee's outing...it's been too long.

On that note, hope everyone has an awesome weekend and a great holiday!

ALF

The Last Time I Watch This Exorcism Movie

2010-09-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

My horror movie compadre, E, and I went to the movies last night to see The Last Exorcism. The previews looked pretty creepy and I had high hopes for the movie itself.

Unfortunately, it was kind of a disappointment.

Good things:
1. It was documentary style, which I enjoy. I'm one of those who enjoyed "The Blair Witch Project" and "Paranormal Activity" because I find that documentary style movies tend to be creepier than standard ones.

2. It was funny. Though a horror movie in effect, the main character, a jaded preacher and swindler, has some great one liners.

Not so great things:
1. This movie is barely scary. The creepy scenes are few and far between, and many of the scenes seem to try too hard to be scary.

2. The plot is cliched. I won't give the ending away, but it's the kind of twist that isn't really a twist because it's been done before. In this case, it wasn't even done well.

My favorite response to this movie? The guy behind us told the person he was with "This is the last time I let you pick the movie we go see."

My recommendation? Wait for the DVD.

ALF