It's revising time and the WIP has characters, locations, romance, strife...but it was lacking...something.
I think I've got it. Trouble is, I'm jotting notes before the ideas completely flee my head but don't have the time to fully flesh it out. The nights that one or more children wake repeatedly seem, inevitably, to be followed by days where I have a flood of ideas but neither the time--nor the alertness--to put them together.
Nevertheless, 2010 WILL be THE year this gets DONE. (I will look like a zombie but there are trade-offs for everything!)
How is your 2010 progressing?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Mama said there'd be days like this...
My mother did teach me to use recipes to cook.
She also said (often) that I could not walk and chew gum, at the same time.
So--I stay away from gum and enjoy red wine while I cook, instead! Apparently, I cannot drink, talk and cook at the same time.
My husband and I are trying to kick a few pounds, together. So I found a recipe for a pasta sauce (to be enjoyed only with whole wheat pasta, of course) that I thought he'd like. He said it sounded good and asked me to double the recipe--so there would be leftovers this week. So I was sipping, talking and doubling. Rather than 1/4, I put in 1/2 cup of basil and crushed red pepper.
As it turns out, the original recipe called for 1/4 TEASPOON of red pepper.
She also said (often) that I could not walk and chew gum, at the same time.
So--I stay away from gum and enjoy red wine while I cook, instead! Apparently, I cannot drink, talk and cook at the same time.
My husband and I are trying to kick a few pounds, together. So I found a recipe for a pasta sauce (to be enjoyed only with whole wheat pasta, of course) that I thought he'd like. He said it sounded good and asked me to double the recipe--so there would be leftovers this week. So I was sipping, talking and doubling. Rather than 1/4, I put in 1/2 cup of basil and crushed red pepper.
As it turns out, the original recipe called for 1/4 TEASPOON of red pepper.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
When it's you...
In a book, a little foreshadowing is all it takes. You can see when something is not meant to be.
My kids? My husband? When things aren't going their way, I remind them to step back and take a look--if it's this hard, perhaps it wasn't meant to be.
But me? I'll never learn...
Even when it is a simple pot of soup. I've had a taste for a bowl of homemade black bean soup. With the winter storm marching this way, what could be better than soup--and soup stored for the next couple of days? I'm thinking black bean, pea soup, cheddar sherry and if my husband is lucky--even chicken tortilla soup.
What could be easier than a pot of black bean soup? Not much. And yet, it has quite literally been on the back burner for the better part of the day. With one child home sick, one eternally uninspired and the third, well, TWO--it has taken me this long. If any one of them had been going at this for this long, I would tell them that God, the Universe or Someone had decided it was not in the cards for today. Me? I just overflowed the food processor trying to blend some and (you can probably tell) have poured another glass of wine in the process but am I going to quit now? Ha!
In my fantasies, my family smiles and enjoys the warm house full of the smells of homecooking. In reality, who really wants to smell cooked onions and spilled soup? And yet, I persist...
(I even had all of the ingredients for this one. Not for all of the soups but since the child who stayed home sick today ONLY wants jello--I ventured out to the store--to get that, plus ingredients for the other soups. With the "winter storm" approaching, I thought soups sounded good. However, with the "winter storm" approaching, I could not find a parking place at my normal store. Who has to go to 2 grocery stores with 2-4 inches of snow expected? Puh-leeese.)
Part of it took this long because once the kids were IN bed, I found a few songs/rhymes/raps and other tactics to help the 3rd grader remember each of his spelling words for tomorrow's quiz. We were working on these at exactly the same time that my daughter began to feel better (God Bless Motrin) and was working on the math assigment sent home. She had missed the class and had no idea how to do each section, so I was teaching math and singing spelling and running downstairs to stir soup. Again, if it had been any of them...
My husband is re-reading The Celestine Prophecy again. This time, he reminded me--"you know, if this were in the book, it'd be clear that you weren't meant to finish the soup..."
And yet...
So, my dear readers, the foreshadowing is clearly there. It is 10:30 and I am finally about to pour a bowl of soup for dinner. My kids are reasonably ready for tomorrow. So there should not be a shadow of a doubt that tomorrow will be a snow day. But we will have soup. So far, just black bean soup. Which no one eats but me.
My kids? My husband? When things aren't going their way, I remind them to step back and take a look--if it's this hard, perhaps it wasn't meant to be.
But me? I'll never learn...
Even when it is a simple pot of soup. I've had a taste for a bowl of homemade black bean soup. With the winter storm marching this way, what could be better than soup--and soup stored for the next couple of days? I'm thinking black bean, pea soup, cheddar sherry and if my husband is lucky--even chicken tortilla soup.
What could be easier than a pot of black bean soup? Not much. And yet, it has quite literally been on the back burner for the better part of the day. With one child home sick, one eternally uninspired and the third, well, TWO--it has taken me this long. If any one of them had been going at this for this long, I would tell them that God, the Universe or Someone had decided it was not in the cards for today. Me? I just overflowed the food processor trying to blend some and (you can probably tell) have poured another glass of wine in the process but am I going to quit now? Ha!
In my fantasies, my family smiles and enjoys the warm house full of the smells of homecooking. In reality, who really wants to smell cooked onions and spilled soup? And yet, I persist...
(I even had all of the ingredients for this one. Not for all of the soups but since the child who stayed home sick today ONLY wants jello--I ventured out to the store--to get that, plus ingredients for the other soups. With the "winter storm" approaching, I thought soups sounded good. However, with the "winter storm" approaching, I could not find a parking place at my normal store. Who has to go to 2 grocery stores with 2-4 inches of snow expected? Puh-leeese.)
Part of it took this long because once the kids were IN bed, I found a few songs/rhymes/raps and other tactics to help the 3rd grader remember each of his spelling words for tomorrow's quiz. We were working on these at exactly the same time that my daughter began to feel better (God Bless Motrin) and was working on the math assigment sent home. She had missed the class and had no idea how to do each section, so I was teaching math and singing spelling and running downstairs to stir soup. Again, if it had been any of them...
My husband is re-reading The Celestine Prophecy again. This time, he reminded me--"you know, if this were in the book, it'd be clear that you weren't meant to finish the soup..."
And yet...
So, my dear readers, the foreshadowing is clearly there. It is 10:30 and I am finally about to pour a bowl of soup for dinner. My kids are reasonably ready for tomorrow. So there should not be a shadow of a doubt that tomorrow will be a snow day. But we will have soup. So far, just black bean soup. Which no one eats but me.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Slacker mom strikes again
I have mentioned before that my youngest likes to stash food in his pjs. And yet, I continue to feed him before getting him dressed.
Today Slacker Mom allowed him to have a peanut butter and chocolate granola bar. SM was able to take the trash out and he was still enjoying it so SM decided to steal a few minutes on the computer. Toddler lowers the zipper. Slacker mom thinks: "He'll learn. It will be sticky and he will remember for next time." Slacker mom keeps writing.
Toddler stays quiet and happy for a few more minutes. Slacker mom makes mental note to change him and get him dressed in just a minute. She continues writing.
Several minutes later, toddler is completely zipped back up and Slacker mom has, of course, forgotten about the hidden contents. She watches him tiptoe around the carpet, trying to play with his toys. "Ha ha! This will make him remember not to stash food in his pjs!"
A few more minutes and Slacker mom finally stops typing. He probably needs a new diaper by now, anyway. Yep...he's unzipping...oh...riiiight. Those blanket sleepers are cozy...and chocolate melts.
Today Slacker Mom allowed him to have a peanut butter and chocolate granola bar. SM was able to take the trash out and he was still enjoying it so SM decided to steal a few minutes on the computer. Toddler lowers the zipper. Slacker mom thinks: "He'll learn. It will be sticky and he will remember for next time." Slacker mom keeps writing.
Toddler stays quiet and happy for a few more minutes. Slacker mom makes mental note to change him and get him dressed in just a minute. She continues writing.
Several minutes later, toddler is completely zipped back up and Slacker mom has, of course, forgotten about the hidden contents. She watches him tiptoe around the carpet, trying to play with his toys. "Ha ha! This will make him remember not to stash food in his pjs!"
A few more minutes and Slacker mom finally stops typing. He probably needs a new diaper by now, anyway. Yep...he's unzipping...oh...riiiight. Those blanket sleepers are cozy...and chocolate melts.
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