Mar 29, 2012 |
Well, it’s the last week of March and here’s the rest of what we’ve been eating:
March 17th was Dot’s best friend’s birthday and we celebrated at the local bowling lanes. His family brought four kinds of Pizza Hut pizza, buffalo wings, soda, water, and cupcakes! Everything was taken in moderation, and we bowled off the calories as soon as we ate them.
18th: My birthday dinner at Mom’s! Corned beef, cabbage, and boiled vegetables along with bread rolls. And for desert, Chocolate Cherry Cake! It’s tradition!
19th: Leftovers.
20th: Dot took me to see George Clooney’s “The Descendants” at the dollar theatre, so we splurged and went through the drive-thru at Jack in the Box. I ordered a Chicken Pita Sandwich. It was delicious!
21st: Dot was at her grandparents for the day. She came home early enough for dinner so we ordered a $10 Pizza Hut box. It was too cheesy, not too warm, and so not fulfilling. More and more, I feel yucky when I don’t stick to the Homecooked Meal Plan.
22nd: We ate healthy snacks all day and met friends in the evening for the midnight showing of “The Hunger Games”. Dinner consisted of Starbucks, popcorn and jalapenos, and fruit snacks.
23rd: Not feeling too good after last night’s fare. Tonight’s Meal Memo called for Schwan’s Seasoned Stuffed Chicken Breasts. I also shredded lettuce for a plain salad, and toasted garlic bread in the oven. It was delicious, and I feel so much better after last week’s junk food bonanza!
24th: Since last night’s chicken was gone in one meal, today I made Hamburger Helper’s Stroganoff and just heated up a bag of frozen green beans. It was really delicious, and there’s plenty leftovers for tomorrow.
25th: Well, Dot ate her leftovers for lunch. But I had a late breakfast of scrambled eggs. So I had my leftovers for dinner.
26th: This morning’s Memo called for Potstickers on a bed of rice. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled. So we opted for the healthy chicken nugget bucket at McDonald’s… where they prompted screwed up my order again. That’ll teach me.
27th: Leftovers since we saw The Hunger Games again.
28th: Finally gonna make the Potstickers and rice tonight. It will be a yummy casual dinner.
That means we’ll have enough leftovers on this for the next two days, which finishes out the month of March.
I didn’t stick to the Jar Plan every day. And on the days I relied on fast food or whatever I could find, those days (and the next!), I felt pretty yucky. So I know I need to cook much more often. Even if it’s just little things. I also realized I put too many Memos in the Jar. Most of the meals offered leftovers that I didn’t originally account for. Which right now is a good thing, because that means I know have Meal Memos for April.
I’m going to change April’s schedule: I’ll put in the same amount of Meal Memos, but include “white” cards (blanks) for the days we decide to eat out or order pizza. I’ll make sure we only have one of these each week. That means six homecooked meals a week.
I’m feeling pretty good about that.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Mar 28, 2012 |
This is not to be confused with my own personal NaNoWriMo for April, in which I’ve committed to adding 50,000 words to the first novel in my and Megan’s nine-book series.
As if that’s not enough, I’ve once again committed through BlogHer to join NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month – every month!) for April.
I guess that’s not really a big deal, since I’ve been posting every day for the last seven months. But April’s theme intrigues me.
Poem.
I don’t typically take writing prompts from BlogHer. They’re only there if you don’t know what to write… and when do I never not know what to write?!
But still.
Poem.
I might follow the prompts this time. At least now and then. I might just try my hand at being a part time poet.
As if I don’t have enough writing projects on the board. Literally. And literally!
This is my other commitment: that I’ll post my attempts, finished or not. [Unless they are really, really bad. Then you get nuttin’.]
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Mar 27, 2012 |
If you haven’t heard that expression, I’m sure you’ve heard something similar.
Think about it.
The Cobbler’s children have no shoes. The Plumber’s pipes are always leaking.
That poor cobbler! His poor children!
All he does is work, work, work for a meager wage, only to come home and have people asking “Please, sir, may I have some more?” (did’ya hear my pitiful little English accent, there?)
I’ve come to believe it’s not that the Cobbler is indifferent. It’s that he has nothing left to give at the end of the day. He’s been nitpicked throughout his entire way home and is spent from the journey of getting there.
When someone asks, “So what is it that you do?” I’m always careful to size them up before I answer, “I’m a writer.”
Mostly, now, I just tell them, “I own my own company.”
But that invariably begs their prompting, “Oh, wow! So what kind of company is it?”
Gulp. Here we go.
“I offer writing, editing, and publishing services.”
“Really?” They say, and instantly their eyes roll to the side as they recall every creative idea they’ve ever had, every family story they’ve ever heard, and every push to reach their own personal goals.
And then they change. From an acquaintance/business associate/banker/grocery store clerk to looking up at me with big eyes and outstretched hands as they gulp… “Can I ask you a question?”
And invariably, they want my knowledge. My input. My business.
But they’re not willing to pay for it.
I can’t tell you how often I’m asked to draft letters, write prompts, help other people with their writing in any fashion… but they’re not willing to pay for it.
So now when people start throwing their ideas to the open air around me, I cut them off. I tell them, for liability and copyright reasons, they really shouldn’t discuss their story ideas in public. With me, or any professional writer, unless they’re under contract. Or unless they know them. And trust them.
And that little bit of information seems to make them trust me more. Which makes them feel more comfortable asking for my advice. But they’re not willing to pay for it.
I wouldn’t dare ask the bank to put their money in my account. Or the grocer to hand over eggs and a gallon of milk.
But when you’re professionally creative, that’s exactly what people expect. Not enough people take into consideration that creativity comes in many forms, and a lot is through observation. I’m always watching people, listening to sounds, paying attention to body language and attitudes. For someone to blatantly throw a story idea my way is like giving a kid the keys to a candy store… and then having her arrested. It just doesn’t make sense!
So here is my blanket advice to anyone seeking advice from a writer: Anyone can write. Even if you have a hard time putting words on paper. Record yourself talking. Tell yourself the story. Then write it out. If your story excites you, it’s a story. Period. Share it, don’t share it. But write it out. And be proud of your attempts.
If you want to be a writer, be a writer. Period.
I can’t guarantee you’ll earn a living at it. I can’t guarantee anyone else will like it. But
if you want to be a writer, be a writer.
Period.
If you ask for anything more than that, well, that’s when this Cobbler throws up a hand and says, “Sorry. I have to go take care of my children.”
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
