One Change At A Time

So, I was thinking of the New Year for this, but then I thought again. Why wait? That’s why I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. If you’re already thinking of something you’d like to change, why wait? Why put it off? That’s a sign it’s not something you really want to do anyway. I also think people overwhelm themselves with trying to change too much too fast.

In my pondering I came up with an idea. I read somewhere that it takes between 16 and 20 times of doing something to turn it into a habit. I decided to take one thing a month that I’ve always wanted to do or know that I should do and take 30 (or 31 as the case may be) days to turn it into a new habit.

For the month of November – and it’s fitting since this is also NaNoWriMo – my change is to write every day. I know. I know. I’ve been writing for years. I’ve even finished a few manuscripts, but I’ve never made it a habit to write every day. Even doing the strenuous task of NaNoWriMo, I took days off. I procrastinated. Even if it’s just in a journal, or jotting down a few ideas, that is my goal.

I’m going to write everyday.

And so this isn’t words only, here are a couple of pictures from the month of October. I’m off to write now!

At the Pumpkin Patch

 

Becoming a Foodie?

I’m on a mission to eat healthier and I think it’s turning me into a foodie. I’m on my 2nd “foodie” book in two weeks. The first was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and now I’m on to Julie and Julia (yes, the one the movie is based on).

My first ever whole roasted chicken.

A Paleo breakfast of bacon, eggs, and leftover kale that has been sauteed with shallots and apples.

Oh, I’m currently planning a garden too.

No, I Haven’t Forgotten

I know my blog is still here, but damn I’ve been busy. I’ve been busy with things to do and busy with thoughts bouncing around my skull stealing time away from other thoughts. I do plan to revive things around here. It’s just going to take some doing.

Screenprinting Class Part II

The second screenprinting class was Saturday. We got to do the whole process again and I’m proud to say I remembered all the steps. The image I did this time was one I’d drawn – a little cartoon monster. It turned out really cute and I even got to print a few extra to see if they would sell at the shop! Can I tell you, I’m kinda excited about that. Maybe if they sell, I’ll have to do a few more.

Friday for Fun

I have discovered the joy  of Pinterest. Per usual I am probably one of the last people on the planet to get in on the fun, but better late than never. For those who don’t know (and really, are you still out there?), Pinterest is a board where you can snag and organize pictures from all over the web into one place. It is so much fun and I have found a perfect use for it (besides just putting together all the pretty stuff!)

I am going to use it for my novel. In my mind I have ideas about how characters, places, buildings, etc all look. I can visualize it all like it’s right before me, but I also use a lot of inspirational imagery to help me settle into words how something/one looks. Already I’ve started  boards for two of my main characters – images that I’ve already seen and keep in mind when I’m writing, but now I can have them all in one place. It’s so convenient. I can’t imagine that I’m the only one out there doing this, but it’s cool nonetheless.

Just for fun, here are a couple of my inspirational images.

So, is anyone else out there on Pinterest? How are you using it?

Homemade Applesauce

We go through a lot of applesauce in our house, especially now that the Monster has it in her oatmeal every day and next to yogurt, it’s her favorite snack. I started thinking about that and realized how ridiculously easy it must be to make, so why am I spending the money to buy it. Plus, this way I can flavor it anyway I want and I know exactly what’s in it.

I browsed through a few different recipes: Martha Stewart, Simply Recipes, allrecipes. They were all pretty much the same so I decided to more or less wing it.

I used Gala apples. Thank goodness for my apple slicer!

One container for the fridge, one for the freezer.

It was really easy to make. I sliced and peeled about 7 apples, added 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and about a cup of water. That simmered until the apples were tender (about 30 minutes), then I mashed them with a potato masher. I left mine a little chunky because I like that. Then, it wasn’t quite sweet enough so I threw in about 3 Tbsp of brown sugar. See, super easy! I think next time I’m going to experiment with some different flavors, like cinnamon or allspice or nutmeg. I also might play around with adding some different fruits too.

All that’s left to say is YUM!

Screenprinting Class – Part One

Something I’ve really been wanting to do is screenprinting. Luckily, we have a local print shop that offers classes. I signed up for a two part intro class at Green Pea Press. It was great fun and I thought I’d share my result.

I used a photograph I’d taken of Chloe and converted it into a black and white image in Photoshop. The image is screenprinted onto a canvas material and my plan is to add some paint and embroidery to it and stretch it like a regular canvas.

The second part of the class is next Saturday and since there are only three of us in the class we’re going to get to go through the whole process again with another image. I think I may do some t-shirts or tote bags next time with one of my little sketched creatures.

Just Finished Reading – Seven Realms series

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima consists of three books (so far): The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, and The Gray Wolf Throne. Instead of the usual urban or dystopic fantasy that is prevalent in the teen market right now, these books are a sword and sorcery epic fantasy that could be enjoyed by a girl or a boy. The books are split between two strong characters: Han Alister, a former thief and Princess Raisa ‘anaMarianna, who longs for an escape from the strictures of her royal station. The story draws the two of them together with the problem of preserving the Gray Wolf throne and the bloodline to which Raisa is heir.

I recommend these highly. Enjoy!

I’m Still Here

I know it’s been a little while since I blogged. Chalk it up to recovering from the holidays. 🙂

There are a few small things that have made me happy over the last couple of weeks, so I thought I’d share.

One.

This recipe from Crepes of Wrath. These S’more Cookie Bars are sooooo (I can’t put enough o’s here!) good. They are super easy and really rich and I see myself making them often. Or at least as often as my blood sugar can take it.

My picture isn't nearly as pretty as the one on the other blog, but I'm going to work on that!

Two.

I read a lot of blogs and I’m discovering new ones everyday that I love. On the suggestion from a post on one of those blogs (This one!) I checked out the site. Bloglovin.com. I’ve only been using it a couple of days and already I love it. All the blogs I follow are in one place. It updates new posts without having to go to every single site. I’ve been wanting to manage my time better, especially online, so this is perfect.

Three.

On a personal note, I have about 15 scenes fleshed out on my novel. My goal is to have the novel ready by DragonCon, since a couple of agents I would love to sign with are going to be there and if they tell me they’re interested I want to be able to send them something complete right away. I am super happy with the direction this rewrite is going. I feel like I finally have gotten a handle on my novel again. I finally have returned it to something that is mine.

My Manifesto

I was inspired by this post on Craft. I’m going to print out a copy and hang it near my desk so I see it everyday.