Started out with a few hundred less words to write to get to my daily average, so that was great. I finished chapter thirteen and have 78 pages written (only 1.5 spacing)
You know the chapters I said I would brainstorm last night? Yeah, didn't happen. So Tonight after dinner and some evening chores, I will have to buckle down and get some chapters brainstormed so that I can continue writing at this pace. Once again, over my suggested cumulative total so I'm thrilled about that. Glad to be beyond the halfway point. For a while, I wasn't sure I'd even participate in NaNoWriMo this year and now I feel like it's definitely within the realm of possibility ... as long as I don't lose any steam during the last half of the month.
My unofficial goal is to be finished with the story by the 25th, but I will be happy to finish by the 30th.
Today's Count: 31,366
Suggested Count: 30,000
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Hectic Morning
So I had this wonderful idea to recreate this dish I had at The Cheesecake Factory with my friends a few weeks back. It is Chicken Bellagio, or something Italian like that. It was a couple pieces of breaded chicken on top of basil pesto pasta, topped with prosciutto, and arugula. Well, we have the chicken, pesto, pasta and I figured I could make a quick trip to the local Kroger for the basil, arugula, Panko crumbs, and prosciutto.
Take Christian to school, head on over to Kroger and head straight for the produce section. They have arugula, nice and pre-packaged for your convenience, but much like a department store that keeps certain items locked on the shelves and rods, the arugula I desperately needed was locked on the rod. None of the other herbs were. Basil was free to roam around, sage was free to slide off the rod and into a cart at any given moment, but arugula was a prisoner. So I fidgeted with it for a minute because I wanted to make sure I wasn't having some early morning, still tired, hallucination. But I wasn't. And as embarrassing as it felt to ask a clerk to unlock the arugula, I asked the produce guy. His response was, "I've never seen this before. Maybe we aren't supposed to sell it."
Well, I would have thrown a fit and told him that the arugula was on display with a price tag shown so obviously they were supposed to sell it and if they'd stocked it on the rod then obviously there was a way OFF the rod, but I was too embarrassed to make a fuss. Instead, I go looking for my other ingredients. Apparently, our neighborhood Kroger is a little less than well stocked when it comes to anything other than chips, soda, and frozen ready to heat foods. No Panko crumbs and no bread crumbs at all. I checked the bread aisle, where the stuffing crumbs were and although well stocked on stuffing, no Panko. So I checked the ethnic foods aisle and no bread crumbs or Panko. I checked the baking aisle, none there either. I thought I might at least get the prosciutto, but nope, none of that either.
I left Kroger with a measly pack of basil, but figured Marsh was just down the street so I'd try there.
Well, as I pulled into the choppy, cracked, disarrayed parking lot with faded paint lines, I remembered why it is I never shop at Marsh. I went inside to the produce aisle and guess what, no arugula, Panko crumbs, or prosciutto. So I decide, rather angrily, to head to Wal-Mart. After all, it's a much bigger store so they have to have these things, right??
Get to Wal-Mart, peruse the produce aisle and guess what ... apparently Kroger was right to bolt down their arugula supply because Wal-Mart had none to offer either. I had no idea fresh arugula was such a hot commodity. (Should I be talking to a stockbroker about this and transfering my 401k?) Anyways, I just settled for the basil and headed to the deli. They had prosciutto and Panko crumbs. So I bought it, and thanked my lucky stars I only had to waste $974,286 in gas getting the ingredients for a cheap knock off dinner.
I'll come back after dinner with pics and turn this into randomrecipeswithpicsblog.
These are the ingredients for dinner tonight, minus the flour, eggs, and seasoning.
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts ... $4.31
Pesto sauce mix ... $0.58
Basil ... $1.89
Panko Crumbs ... $1.58
Pasta (estimation per serving) ... $0.90
Prosciutto ... $3.98
________________________________________________
Estimated Total Cost ... $13.24
Estimated Total Cost per serving ... $4.42 (3 servings, one for each piece of chicken)
Take Christian to school, head on over to Kroger and head straight for the produce section. They have arugula, nice and pre-packaged for your convenience, but much like a department store that keeps certain items locked on the shelves and rods, the arugula I desperately needed was locked on the rod. None of the other herbs were. Basil was free to roam around, sage was free to slide off the rod and into a cart at any given moment, but arugula was a prisoner. So I fidgeted with it for a minute because I wanted to make sure I wasn't having some early morning, still tired, hallucination. But I wasn't. And as embarrassing as it felt to ask a clerk to unlock the arugula, I asked the produce guy. His response was, "I've never seen this before. Maybe we aren't supposed to sell it."
Well, I would have thrown a fit and told him that the arugula was on display with a price tag shown so obviously they were supposed to sell it and if they'd stocked it on the rod then obviously there was a way OFF the rod, but I was too embarrassed to make a fuss. Instead, I go looking for my other ingredients. Apparently, our neighborhood Kroger is a little less than well stocked when it comes to anything other than chips, soda, and frozen ready to heat foods. No Panko crumbs and no bread crumbs at all. I checked the bread aisle, where the stuffing crumbs were and although well stocked on stuffing, no Panko. So I checked the ethnic foods aisle and no bread crumbs or Panko. I checked the baking aisle, none there either. I thought I might at least get the prosciutto, but nope, none of that either.
I left Kroger with a measly pack of basil, but figured Marsh was just down the street so I'd try there.
Well, as I pulled into the choppy, cracked, disarrayed parking lot with faded paint lines, I remembered why it is I never shop at Marsh. I went inside to the produce aisle and guess what, no arugula, Panko crumbs, or prosciutto. So I decide, rather angrily, to head to Wal-Mart. After all, it's a much bigger store so they have to have these things, right??
Get to Wal-Mart, peruse the produce aisle and guess what ... apparently Kroger was right to bolt down their arugula supply because Wal-Mart had none to offer either. I had no idea fresh arugula was such a hot commodity. (Should I be talking to a stockbroker about this and transfering my 401k?) Anyways, I just settled for the basil and headed to the deli. They had prosciutto and Panko crumbs. So I bought it, and thanked my lucky stars I only had to waste $974,286 in gas getting the ingredients for a cheap knock off dinner.
I'll come back after dinner with pics and turn this into randomrecipeswithpicsblog.
These are the ingredients for dinner tonight, minus the flour, eggs, and seasoning.
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts ... $4.31
Pesto sauce mix ... $0.58
Basil ... $1.89
Panko Crumbs ... $1.58
Pasta (estimation per serving) ... $0.90
Prosciutto ... $3.98
________________________________________________
Estimated Total Cost ... $13.24
Estimated Total Cost per serving ... $4.42 (3 servings, one for each piece of chicken)
NaNoWriMo 11.17.10
Didn't start writing today until about 10:00pm. But I at least had a plan for the second half of the chapter, which made it easy to meet my daily goal. I am going to brainstorm a couple more chapters and head to bed. I think I may do some early writing tomorrow, just depends on how quickly I get my housework done.I already have the next chapter outlined, but I will definitely need some ideas already strewn together to keep up my progress.
Today's Total: 28,884
Suggested Total: 28,334
Today's Total: 28,884
Suggested Total: 28,334
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Remembering Uncle Steve
Uncle Steve passed away three years ago. About a year ago I found a lamp that was his but was in storage. It was slightly damaged so I took the lamp mechanism out of it and turned it back into a vase.
The memories are a little hard to deal with sometimes. I miss him so much and I just didn't realize how much I would miss him until he was gone.
Anyways, I started putting little Post-It notes in the vase with a date on it. Whenever I think of Uncle Steve, I jot the date on the Stick-It and toss it into the vase. If something specific triggers the memory, I will write that down on the Post-It as well. It sounds silly, but it helps.
The memories are a little hard to deal with sometimes. I miss him so much and I just didn't realize how much I would miss him until he was gone.
Anyways, I started putting little Post-It notes in the vase with a date on it. Whenever I think of Uncle Steve, I jot the date on the Stick-It and toss it into the vase. If something specific triggers the memory, I will write that down on the Post-It as well. It sounds silly, but it helps.
Homework Time
This was Christian, doing his homework after school while I started dinner.
His crazy expression ...
And laughing hysterically ...
His crazy expression ...
And laughing hysterically ...
Wednesday Dinner Time
Wednesdays are the only day that Joe has off from work, the whole day, so today I wanted to do something quick and easy to clean up after, but still a sit down meal we can enjoy as a family.
Today's Menu: Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, and salad.
This isn't a recipe blog, but today I will post a bit about how I prepared it.
Sweet Potato Fries:
3 large sweet potatoes (which ended up being too much for our family so one large or a large and a medium might be better)
2 tablespoons EVOO
Salt, pepper and garlic to taste
Peel the sweet potatoes, slice into fry shapes. Rinse, then drain really well.
In a bowl, drizzle EVOO and toss until evenly coated.
Spread onto pan, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic. I mixed a bit of each together, gave a shake, and sprinkled.
Place in oven at 400 degrees and let bake for about 30 minutes, turning once.
With the turkey burgers, I put a little salt, garlic pepper, crushed red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in with two pounds of ground turkey. Tossed in a little bit of Italian bread crumbs and mixed.
Then formed into eight patties for the grill.
I turned the sweet potatoes after a half hour and put them back in the oven. This was the final product.
The potatoes weren't as crisp as I had wanted them to turn out, but they were still delicious. Joe and Christian really enjoyed!
_____________________________________________
2lbs. ground turkey ... $3.00
Hamburger buns ... $1.00
3 sweet potaotes ... $2.75
Spices, herbs, etc. ... $0.75
Salad ... $3.00
_____________________________________________
Estimated Cost: $10.50 (but I had the spices and dressing on hand so it was a smidge cheaper but I tossed a high ball figure in there just to be fair.)
Estimated Cost Per Serving: $1.32 (8 turkey burgers so 8 servings)
And for our family of three, that left plenty for lunch today for me and Joe.
Today's Menu: Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, and salad.
This isn't a recipe blog, but today I will post a bit about how I prepared it.
Sweet Potato Fries:
3 large sweet potatoes (which ended up being too much for our family so one large or a large and a medium might be better)
2 tablespoons EVOO
Salt, pepper and garlic to taste
Peel the sweet potatoes, slice into fry shapes. Rinse, then drain really well.
In a bowl, drizzle EVOO and toss until evenly coated.
Spread onto pan, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic. I mixed a bit of each together, gave a shake, and sprinkled.
Place in oven at 400 degrees and let bake for about 30 minutes, turning once.
With the turkey burgers, I put a little salt, garlic pepper, crushed red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in with two pounds of ground turkey. Tossed in a little bit of Italian bread crumbs and mixed.
Then formed into eight patties for the grill.
I turned the sweet potatoes after a half hour and put them back in the oven. This was the final product.
The potatoes weren't as crisp as I had wanted them to turn out, but they were still delicious. Joe and Christian really enjoyed!
_____________________________________________
2lbs. ground turkey ... $3.00
Hamburger buns ... $1.00
3 sweet potaotes ... $2.75
Spices, herbs, etc. ... $0.75
Salad ... $3.00
_____________________________________________
Estimated Cost: $10.50 (but I had the spices and dressing on hand so it was a smidge cheaper but I tossed a high ball figure in there just to be fair.)
Estimated Cost Per Serving: $1.32 (8 turkey burgers so 8 servings)
And for our family of three, that left plenty for lunch today for me and Joe.
Hamless Ham
I told Christian to smile for a quick picture this morning as we were walking out the door to take him to school. For as much as he loves to get his picture taken, the boy can't give an authentic smile on cue.
He was quiet on the way to school and almost fell asleep while we were waiting. I think we need to readjust bedtime.
He was quiet on the way to school and almost fell asleep while we were waiting. I think we need to readjust bedtime.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Merpire or Vampaid
So I was just working on Once Upon an Ocean Nightmare, which is the second installment of Zarya, Arion, and Ronan. Well, I was writing a scene that takes place during the day on the surface of the water and I realized, I think my merpeople have mingled with vampires over the course of their evolution.
Why did I so suddenly come to this conclusion? Well, I offer for your consideration, what I'm listing as evidence.
Evidence A
Merpeople need the moon to draw energy. The moonlight energizes them and strengthens their magic. Now, they do not need to bask under the moon every night, unless they are a.) a newborn, b.) just given birth within the last thirty days, and last but not least, c.) waiting for their love to return from a long journey.
Evidence B
Merpeople cannot handle the sunlight. Infant merchildren cannot withstand the sun at all. It drains the energy they gathered during basking so they must be under the surface of the water before the sunrise. Young mermaids cannot see a sunrise until they are married. Their male counterparts can be unaffected by the sunrise before marriage, but it also drains energy and magic from their bodies at a quicker rate than if they had just gone back into the ocean at sunrise. Sunlight is also not good for mermaids who have given birth within the last 30 days. Their bodies are weak and susceptible to massive energy and magic drain from the sun.
Evidence C
Ronan isn't a merperson. He's a selkie, which is a seal who can change into human form. Anyways, selkie blood is what gives the rogue merpeople their excessive energy and ability to heal so quickly. When Zarya is weakened from travel and childbirth and impending war, Ronan offers enough of his blood to her to help heal her and replenish her energy.
So, I wrote the first edition, Once Upon an Ocean Lullaby, last year at NaNoWriMo and I never noticed until now that a lot of my merpeople characteristics are very vampire.
I guess the question now is should they be "merpires" or "vampaids"? LOL
Why did I so suddenly come to this conclusion? Well, I offer for your consideration, what I'm listing as evidence.
Evidence A
Merpeople need the moon to draw energy. The moonlight energizes them and strengthens their magic. Now, they do not need to bask under the moon every night, unless they are a.) a newborn, b.) just given birth within the last thirty days, and last but not least, c.) waiting for their love to return from a long journey.
Evidence B
Merpeople cannot handle the sunlight. Infant merchildren cannot withstand the sun at all. It drains the energy they gathered during basking so they must be under the surface of the water before the sunrise. Young mermaids cannot see a sunrise until they are married. Their male counterparts can be unaffected by the sunrise before marriage, but it also drains energy and magic from their bodies at a quicker rate than if they had just gone back into the ocean at sunrise. Sunlight is also not good for mermaids who have given birth within the last 30 days. Their bodies are weak and susceptible to massive energy and magic drain from the sun.
Evidence C
Ronan isn't a merperson. He's a selkie, which is a seal who can change into human form. Anyways, selkie blood is what gives the rogue merpeople their excessive energy and ability to heal so quickly. When Zarya is weakened from travel and childbirth and impending war, Ronan offers enough of his blood to her to help heal her and replenish her energy.
So, I wrote the first edition, Once Upon an Ocean Lullaby, last year at NaNoWriMo and I never noticed until now that a lot of my merpeople characteristics are very vampire.
I guess the question now is should they be "merpires" or "vampaids"? LOL
NaNoWriMo 11.16.10
Today is the 16th and I had meant to post a blogcast yesterday but blogger was being extra super slow so I nixed the idea. I'll consider remaking a video in a couple days and posting it.
Worked on NaNoWriMo today. I am barely above the suggested cumulative count for the day, which makes me feel great.
Today's Count: 26,703
Suggested Count: 26,667
Worked on NaNoWriMo today. I am barely above the suggested cumulative count for the day, which makes me feel great.
Today's Count: 26,703
Suggested Count: 26,667
It's What's For Dinner
Click Here For Recipe
I found a recipe blog the other day called Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Check it out! The blogger has dozens of recipes with pics of the steps and the final project. I found the Grands Taco Melts on there the other day and knew I had to try it, especially since Christian saw the pics and said they looked delicious.
Here is how ours turned out, but make sure to click the link above to check out the recipe and leave the blogger some love. Her recipes are quick, simple, and budget conscious!
I used a couple tablespoons of milk in the refried black beans to make them a little creamier and topped with a little cheese.
And they are yum! Just had a few bites and wanted to post for the blog. I'm going to go enjoy dinner now!
_______________________________
I won't post all the ingredients here because I want you to click on the recipe link above and show my fellow blogger some love, but I will tell you the estimated cost of my meal, and the estimated per serving cost.
Estimated Cost: $8.31
Estimated Cost per serving: $1.04 (8 biscuits so 8 servings)
I found a recipe blog the other day called Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Check it out! The blogger has dozens of recipes with pics of the steps and the final project. I found the Grands Taco Melts on there the other day and knew I had to try it, especially since Christian saw the pics and said they looked delicious.
Here is how ours turned out, but make sure to click the link above to check out the recipe and leave the blogger some love. Her recipes are quick, simple, and budget conscious!
I used a couple tablespoons of milk in the refried black beans to make them a little creamier and topped with a little cheese.
And they are yum! Just had a few bites and wanted to post for the blog. I'm going to go enjoy dinner now!
_______________________________
I won't post all the ingredients here because I want you to click on the recipe link above and show my fellow blogger some love, but I will tell you the estimated cost of my meal, and the estimated per serving cost.
Estimated Cost: $8.31
Estimated Cost per serving: $1.04 (8 biscuits so 8 servings)
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