Had a time of getting it all to blend in the blender. I think I should have waited to add the fresh banana to the last minute.
It’s just frozen strawberries and banana with an added fresh banana and ice. That’s it.
My bananas are not ripe yet, but I like them kinda on the green side. I know the -best- is the spotted bananas, but I kind of like the less sweet just-turned-green. The spotted ones are too sweet for me.
I did use packaged frozen strawberries and bananas. No sugar or anything else it looks like added. (Don’t tell anyone that it’s not organic. )
I think a raw food diet would be rather yummy! I could eat this all day.
Lately when I’m proud of my culinary arts, I pull out the camera and snap a few photos.
Let’s face it, I’m not a genius when it comes to taking photos.
Lately though, I’ve been eating a lot of raisins, bananas and fruit juice. It’s not as much fun as baking a nice batch of Nutella Icing Covered Shortbread Cookies like above.
Not the same experience, I guess.
You know when diets suck? It’s when you really miss the cooking experience. I still cook, but I don’t nearly spend as much time with it as I used to. Instead of thinking of clever ways to “cheat” and make clever brownies that are almost brownies except there’s zucchini and applesauce and pickles cleverly hidden inside, I just assume skip it and indulge every once in a while.
I’m currently going to the University of Louisiana for an Economics degree. Even though I write and I try to write novels, I enjoy economics and love my classes, including my literature classes.
But I’ve been in some bad literature classes, too. Namely, people who think you have to read certain books and you MUST enjoy them. Most of the time, I won’t read literary books, at least not often. I read too many commercial books.
But there’s a handful I’m glad I read. Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIHM I loved to death, even though I didn’t think I would enjoy it at first.
Afterwards, I’ve come to enjoy classics like Jane Austen books and Anne of Green Gables, etc. These books I wouldn’t have read if it weren’t for stubborn teachers trying to prove to me that literary works weren’t that bad.
So to win, leave a comment telling me about the book you were assigned in class that you ended up loving.
The surprise book is a surprise! It’s going to be a copy the most popular book listed. Please don’t everyone say a Norton Anthology that’s $500.
But whatever the most popular book listed is, I will buy 5 copies and give one at random to winners. One winner will get a gift certificate.
Today, I spent an entire day getting ready for school. This meant the thing which I pretty much put off for years at a time.
Getting my hair cut.
I don’t mind my hair being cut. In fact, I love when my hair was just cut and I’ve got a new style or color or something. Of course a new hair cut makes you feel thinner and attractive, something that’s not always true but it sounds good.
It’s just that part about getting your hair cut that’s really awkward. You’re asking a person who you sometimes don’t know to touch you in what would otherwise be considered very intimate for the next hour or so, depending on how long it takes.
First, there’s the sitting to wait where you go in and think you know what you want. You know you just want a simple cut and maybe a highlight. Then as you are sitting and waiting your turn, there’s a handful of books of beautiful men and women with a wide variety of colors and hair styles. So you’re spending time looking through this stuff and of course you visualize every really beautiful woman as yourself and you assume you can pull off the same hair cut.
But the reality is, none of the women or men working in those salons have created those hair cuts or colors. And it’ll be just the thing to end up with a new beauty salon graduate and you give them the most difficult thing to do with your hair. Except you don’t know it’s difficult and you won’t know they’re new until you’re stuck in a chair with 3 other stylists looking at you sympathetically as something chemical dries on your head and they’re giving the new kid 10 different suggestions as to what can be done to fix it.
Beyond the weirdness that could happen, and has happened, there’s the other part. You’re spending a good portion of your time with someone who for some reason feels compelled to talk to you. If you’re a chatty person and like people to talk to, this is a great experience for you, but if you’re a shy geek girl like me, there’s nothing to do but reply awkwardly and hope that one of the other stylists aren’t too busy so they can chat and you can zone out of the conversation.
Yes, so getting a hair cut is not something I completely enjoy. Until it’s over. Then I feel really good. At least for a while until the newness wears off and I’m back to a year or more wondering if I should go get a hair cut and putting it off.
Or maybe I’m the only one who gets weirded out at hair salons.
I guess I should chat a little bit about writing books and fiction, since that’s something I’m doing and my website says I’m a writer. I don’t talk much about writing probably because the more I talk about it, the less I end up doing. It’s like if I keep it a secret, the more I’m burning up inside to tell people about it, so I try to sit down and finish everything before I tell folks.
Writing is very easy, lots of people do it every day. What people have problems with is writing until the end. Sometimes you can start a short story or a novel, and then you wait a few months or so and you’ve only gotten to chapter three.
I did the same thing for a very long time. I’d have false start books, and I have a few of those, where I started and then got to a certain point and floundered. Some of them are horrible and I’ll probably never finish them.
But I’m thankful for every single page I have ever written. It was just one more page closer to finishing.
Sometimes I think it’s a requirement to have a few false starts. The idea might have been there at the time, but it wasn’t sustainable for a whole book. At least you learn it early in the book rather than finishing and realizing it at the end.
Right now I have a finished book that I’m editing through and I’m working with someone else to put the final touches on it to be sent out. I’m also working on another, completely different book, one I hope will be great.
Anyway, to get to the end of a book, here’s what I’ve done. I start out writing like I normally do, but then by the first three chapters, I know where the book is going. I finally write an outline after I get to that point. Then, all I have to do is follow my outline. It may not shape up exactly like the outline has suggested, but it has certainly gotten to the end, which is what I need.
PS College starts up soon, so that means finally getting back into class work. I loved the summer break and I’m pretty sure by the time next summer break comes around, I’ll be ready for it again, maybe with more books to write.
This semester, I’ve got calculus, more economics, British literature and ancient history. I also signed up for a semester of fiddle lessons. Twice a week, me and a violin are going to be making music. I have no idea what possessed me to sign up for another music class. I’ve had two semesters of piano and that was crazy enough. But I’m kind of glad that I am going to do this. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at playing the violin and this is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Yeah, it’s been out for a while. I read books at my own pace. Here’s my two cents.
Dead Until Dark
Written by Charlaine Harris
Paperback: 327 pages
Publisher: Ace Trade; Reprint edition (March 2, 2010)
Language: English
Sookie’s a blonde, for sure. She’s perky and just a tad on the casual cool as far as emotions go. She’s somewhat normal, except she reads minds. Then she meets a vampire named Bill. Bill likes Sookie for goodness knows what reasons because once she runs into him, crazy things happen and it makes it nearly impossible for Sookie to be normal, what with the murderers, shape changing creatures and other vampires getting killed and what not.
Sookie’s in big trouble when a more powerful vampire named Eric has the hots for her. Eric’s trying to get into her pants. Then her big brother, Jason, is being accused of murdering some girls around town. Along the way, her boss, Sam, a guy she finds fascinating because she can’t read his mind, is also hot for her. Of course she has to solve a murder and stay out of danger, but who cares? There’s hot men on her tail!
Look out, you thought Twilight was hot because there were two sexy guys after the main chick? Read this book. No less than four guys want her. And they’re all hot. That’s a lot of beef.
I won’t spoil it much more than that. It’s a quick, fun read. Just leave reality out the door, otherwise you’ll nitpick.
Sookie admitted near the end that she had books from the library and some other references that she reads. You never really see her sit down much and read a book but I guess she saves them for days when she’s not getting killed by crazy guys, vampires and stuff.
With that light hearted note, what books do you know you’ll love and want to save for a rainy day, or a day when you know you’ve got your full attention on it? Not the books you just read to read or even enjoy but THAT book. The ONE that’s you don’t want to ruin because you’re sitting in the doctor’s office and that book deserves being curled up naked on the sofa with a wine glass and maybe a special toy, if you know what I’m sayin’.
OK not that far, but you know the one I’m talking about.
So what better reason to have a contest just… for the fun of it.
I’m trying to get Rafflecopter to work with my blog. So hang tight. Prize is a $10 Amazon Gift Card. The usual comment, Like and Friend thing to get bonus entries.
What’s Fantasy Fi? Right now it means Walking in Circles, a new web series staring Eric Radic, Katie Wilson, and Jonah Priour.
The webisodes feature Krag, a barbarian hero, who has teamed up with a wizard, a cleric, and a bard and are now off on their first adventure together. They’re still figuring their way around the world, and each other, in order to make it through the day, much less through all the trouble that seems to come to them.
In fact, let’s not talk so much about it, let’s just watch Walking in Circles, the new comedy fantasy fi:
Adam Rady and James Rodehaver began working on Walking in Circles at their home in Ohio, and moved across the country to California in order to find their stars and film the series.
Speaking of these guys, I had the opportunity to ask them some questions about their work.
What was it like to move from Ohio to California in order to pursue Walking in Circles? Did you suffer from culture shock?
Coming to California from Ohio was a giant lesson in patience. One of the hardest things to get used to in this city has been blocking out 4 hours of our day to go down the street to the grocery store. There are just so many people, everywhere, all the time that it seems impossible to get anywhere. In Ohio everything is more spread out and open. The biggest culture shock has been getting used to the idea that English is a second language out here. There are so many times when we try to communicate with someone only to realize they have no idea what we’re saying and vice versa. There’s very little language barrier between anybody in Ohio, whereas out here everyone is from somewhere else.
Did you know any of the actors beforehand or did you meet them along the road? Some of them look pretty sketchy. Are you sure they’re actors?
We didn’t know any of our principal actors before moving out to LA, but our parents played guest starring and background roles. That sort of leads into the answer for question two in that some of the people we worked with were absolutely not actors. However, even those of us with no background in acting did a fantastic job and everyone in front of and behind the camera was perfect for their role.
Did you two ever play Dungeons and Dragons as a kids? By the way, how do you two know each other?
James has been playing Dungeons and Dragons since he was but a wee lad, and he convinced Adam that rolling dice wasn’t nearly as geeky as people make it out to be. Correction, it’s exactly as geeky as people make it out to be, but it’s a lot of fun anyway. James’s dad is responsible for getting him into fantasy and science fiction at a young age.
James and Adam met about 14 years ago when James moved in down the street. At first, James did not get along with Adam at all. Somehow that led to them being best friends and that dynamic is surprisingly unchanged.
What kind of equipment was used? Did you have to work with any new technology?
The camera used was a Canon Rebel T-2i. It had a really excellent quality to price ratio that we couldn’t pass up. We got a really nice boom mic set up that we barely used and instead recorded most of our sound off of a couple a lavalier mics. All of the technology we used was new to us because this is our first project and we have zero experience in the field with any of this stuff. Adam has put together all of our footage in Adobe premier, using after effects for our CGI work.
Were there any surprises along the way? Any thought-provoking moments you’d like to share with would-be directors wanting to do this sort of thing?
Well, one of our locations was flooded the day we showed up to film, so that would definitely count as a surprise. Then one of our other locations turned out to be 12 feet under water at the time of year we filmed. Basically, water hated us. One of the most surprising things though was that no matter what happened we were able to roll with the punches and keep going and produce some amazing footage. There were days where the crap just kept piling up, but no one gave up and at the end of the day we had something we were all proud of that was definitely worth it.
Batman or Superman?
Batman. Superman is more powerful, but all he had to do to gain that power was be born on a different planet. Batman may have had all the resources he needed from his parents, but the training, dedication, and smarts were all him. Not to mention there’s no element of danger with Superman. Oh no, Superman got shot in the face with a bazooka. No big deal because he’s indestructible. Having only one weakness means all the danger to Superman has to be contrived. Batman always needs to be on his A game or he’s toast.
What’s coming in future episodes? Is there more singing? Who writes the songs?
Now now, we can’t tell you all of what’s coming. It will be hilarious though. It will be awesome. And yes, Garand will continue to sing. All of Garand’s songs were improvisation on the spot by Jonah Priour, who is so incredibly talented. We’re fairly certain that that guy is the literal manifestation of Garand in real life.
Like what you see? Check out the video, plus later there’s an exclusive interview with the cast of Walking in Circles. That’s coming up soon. Sqweee!
Homemade bread made by the Cajun’s mom. She calls it honey bread, and it does have that hint of honey throughout it. Love those breads. I was telling the Cajun how we may never buy bread again, we’ll just go get some from her.
Two sliced hard-boiled eggs. I didn’t want to mix it in with the mayo. For some reason, slicing it seemed like a great idea.
A tablespoon of Kraft’s Mayo, the one with Olive Oil in it.
Two leaves of romaine lettuce.
A tablespoon of bacon bits.
I think you all can tell how to make a sandwich. I’ll leave how to layer it to you.
There’s some things in life people think they want to do.
Working from home may or may not be one of them. Here’s a list of reasons why you shouldn’t work from home for folks who never really wanted to in the first place.
For starters, there’s the office hours. You can end up in the office at all hours of the day. Blog idea at 12 AM? You better get your butt to the computer or at least write it down.
Then there’s the group of people in your life that will a) not believe you when you tell them you work from home, b) drop off kids at your house because you’re just playing on the computer, or c) ask you how they, too, can work from home, but never do anything about it. That’s the 99% of the people you talk to. The last 1% might be your husband (if he’s smart), and the secret group of elite folks who also work from home, but you only every converse with them via the Great Internet Water Cooler.
Then there’s all the people who are Work At Home Gurus and try to sell you tips on how to work at home, how to do it more effectively and the secrets to getting lots of readers/clients/elephants to subscribe to your Twitter Like page. Half of them will be tempting, half of those you may actually purchase, and the only line that is ever actually true out of all of the hullabaloo is: Your mileage may vary.
You’re never taken seriously when you talk to people within a company that doesn’t also have people who work from home. Some companies are super awesome about this, because they have some sort of work at home culture throughout. Others (old fogies companies, we’ll dub them) do not. These old fogies companies, when they catch wind of your home-ness, will consider you about on par with their mailroom clerks and will pay you as such, despite your degree, your years of service, and despite you catching the CEO on Facebook talking to mistresses overseas while you were updating the company page.
There really isn’t that much interesting on day time television any more.
If you have kids, they will think of the cleverest ways to interrupt your work, including, “I really need to check with my guild for an auction that ended an hour ago that I promised to give them the money for.” and “I promise I didn’t mean to turn on the hose and flood the backyard for two hours.”
There’s also the cut out colored pages of Dora the Explorer left on your keyboard.
And the stickers on your desk.
And on the wall.
And on the floor.
The land lord will love finding these when we move out.
I thought that Blog Hop Friday and subscribing to other newsletters from blogs is a great idea. Share your link with the website and get some followers.
What’s your favorite way to follow a blog? I know some folks like different ways. I will follow via email, because I’m an internet-oldie. I like email. I don’t know how people follow using the Google follow, especially if the blog is on Word Press. Guess that’s something to figure out one day.
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