Getting Ready

All this editing I have been doing has really re-stoked my writing fire.  I really think I may want to write again.  I always have, but I never was very serious about it.  I like words, but I preferred to take the journalistic route and went to school for Journalism.  When that train left the station without me, I left those desires to marinate while I pursued things like a job, groceries, paying my bills, etc.

It’s not that I have a lack of drive and I am certainly not lazy.  What I do have is a lack of confidence and a fear of wasting time.  Sure, I have a lot of great ideas, but when push comes to shove and things look like they might be hard, I hesitate. 

As most of you know, I have a huge anxiety problem.  I’ve had it since I can remember.  I have to take things one step at a time.  If I look at a starting point and then where I want to be in the end, my mind gets fuzzy with all of the details.  I get overwhelmed, my pulse quickens, a fire rises from my toes to me head, and I throw my hands up in the air and say, “Forget it!”.  I retreat back to the familiar.

I also am the type of person that likes to know everything before I start something.  I am always getting ready to get ready.  Right now it’s easier for me to hide behind someone else’s work, to perfect what they’ve already created.  I get lost in the sentence structure, the punctuation, and the dialogue between the characters.  It’s easier.  I don’t have the pressure of creating.  I move slowly through each sentence, each paragraph, and each chapter with little responsibility.

I do want more, but right now I’m happy to get lost in someone else’s masterpiece.  Someday I may change my mind, but today I’m happy to play a supporting role in someone else’s success.  You can call it laziness or lack of drive, but I call it Getting Ready. 

Exciting things are on the horizon…

So, I have been a very busy bee.  There has been so much going on in my life and I haven’t had/made any time to blog in a very long time.

I’ve been involved with my photography and have been busy getting photo’s for a friend’s new book, a paranormal investigation book. The team that I belong to, HAPS, has traveled to some famous haunted locations in order to obtain evidence for the book.  I’ve gotten some amazing shots, some of which may be seen on my photography site RecklessShots.  We also took part in the National Haunters Convention in the beginning of May.  Some of my shots from that event are on my site as well. 

I’ve also edited the third book in the same friend’s teen horror novel series.  This book has now been shopped around La La Land and has been picked up for a motion picture!  They liked my editing and it was mentioned that I may pick up some part-time work for this particular producer.  I’m super excited. 

I also have a radio show on Para-X on Tuesday nights.  The Blurred Line features HAPS team members as well as paranormal experts, cryptozoology, the weird, and the strange.  I also co-host a show, The Dark Side, on Friday nights with some of the same people on the same station.

On top of all of this, I’m working full time, investigating residential properties with HAPS, trying to get some other hobbies in, visiting friends and family, and trying to relax.  I’m not sure how I get all of this done, but I sure am enjoying myself.  I’m not sure what will happen if hubs and I ever realize the dream of a family. 

Keep a eye out!  You may see me zipping by somewhere…

Sunday Cooking

There is nothing like a good burger and with today being a beautiful day, hubs and I decided that a cookout was in order.  Bacon, mushroom, and cheddar-stuffed burgers with oven fries was the perfect menu.

Bacon, Mushroom and Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers
2 .5 lb ground beef (your choice in fat content)
1/2 lb bacon fried and crumbled
1 portobello mushroom cap chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Fry the bacon until crispy.  (There is nothing like the smell of bacon cooking.  I Lurve Bacon.) Once bacon is done cooking, place on a paper towel to dry.

Fry the chopped portobello mushrooms in the left-over back grease.  Once the mushrooms have achieved sufficient crispiness, remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Crumble the bacon and combine with the cooled mushrooms and 1/2 cub of cheddar, in a bowl.

Form one half of the burger.  Choose a small amount of meat and make into a small patty.  (I use an old Tupperware hamburger press that my mother gave me. ) Place about a tablespoon and a half of the cheese mixture on top of the small burger.  Make another small burger and place on top and crimp the edges to make a larger burger.

Once all of the burgers are formed, season how you would like and grill/cook to your desired temperature.

Oven Fries

1 lb fingerling potatoes

Olive Oil for tossing

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit
Cut fingerling potatoes in quarters and toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper.


Cook potatoes for 20 minutes or until done.













Serve with copies amounts of ketchup.

Enjoy!

Sunday Cooking

I love cooking on Sundays so I've decided to start a series of posts called Sunday Cooking.   Sunday meals are a long-standing tradition in so many families.  Each week, I will post a recipe/link to a recipe that the hubs and I are making.  Enjoy and please send along any suggestions!

I LOVE MEATBALLS.  I can't stand going to a restaurant, ordering Spaghetti and "homemade" meatballs only to find they are the frozen bag-variety meatballs so I went on a mission to find a good meatball recipe. I immediately found this one.  There were a ton of good reviews so I figured what the heck! Today I bring you, Rao's meatballs!  This is the best meatball recipe that I've found.  They are amazing.
Rao's has been in business since the late 1800's and has been serving home-style Italian food ever since Charles Rao bought the saloon at West 114 Street in Spanish Harlem in 1896.  This really is such a great recipe.  You have to try it!

I won't repeat the recipe here because it's not mine, but it has a good bit of of cheese and breadcrumbs in it.  It really makes the outside crunchy and the inside really moist.  The meatballs really hold up well in the sauce.   I've eaten them on rolls, but tonight we're having Spaghetti and Meatballs.  Comfort food is wonderful!

Of course, no great Italian meal is complete without some good wine.  We're pairing tonight's meal with Pinot Evil Pinot Noir.


Look for more Sunday Cooking posts. Hubs and I are toying with a food blog.  Tell me what you think!

Enjoy the week!  I will be enjoying left-overs!

Avoidance

I could make all sorts of excuses for not blogging, but who cares really.  I've been telling myself that I would like to be more creative, yet I haven't really picked up my camera in a month or so and hadn't picked it up in months before that.  I haven't set foot in this blog for two months.  I seem to have lost my mojo.

I've started to take pictures with my iPhone again.  Baby steps.  Nothing happened really.... I didn't even get bored.  I would do that thing where I would see something that I would love to photograph, promptly did an inner shoulder shrug and kept doing nothing.

Maybe I'm depressed.  I get that way when the weather starts to get colder.  Though I love the way the leaves look when they start to turn, I notice at the same time that my moods start to shift.  Got a case of the Blahs...  Maybe a vacation to a sunny destination would be just the ticket.

Anyway, I'm not going to make any silly promises about blogging more.  I enjoy it and just need to make time for it.  You can only stare at the boob tube so much, right?

Album vs Single

I was driving home tonight, listening to one of my favorite albums, when I wondered how many people buy whole albums anymore. When using iTunes there's no need. You hear a song. You like it. You buy it. I wonder how many people spring for the whole shebang anymore.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to an entire album. The time and thought it takes to get the order just right... The artist tells a story and with just the right order, it can be amazing or eh... Just like a novelist builds characters and story lines with chapters.

Don't get me wrong. I'll certainly buy the single of a song that really resonates with me or if I like the beat or melody, but I'll frequently go back and buy the whole album. I rarely hit shuffle on my iPod. I want to hear ian album as it was intended. I'm not just talking about concept albums here, though they're great. I'm talking about any album.

I was listening to Arcade Fire's latest, The Suburbs tonight, for the ten thousandth time. I love it through and through. I love every note. I love the progression. I love how it takes me back to living in the burbs in the 80's. I looooooove it.

Got it? Good.

I can't imagine listening to just one song or hitting shuffle. It just wouldn't be the same!

Below I'm listing some of my all time faves. These albums enjoy regular rotation on my iPod.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Adele - 19
Adele - 21
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Depeche Mode - Violator
Florence + The Machine - Lungs
Garbage - Garbage
Paul Simon - Graceland
Keane - Hopes and Fears
Lissie - Catching a Tiger
Marc Broussard - Carencro
Metric - Fantasies
Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
Neko Case - Blacklisted
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble
Ray LaMontagne - Til the Sun Turns Black
The Secret Sisters - The Secret Sisters
The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
The Sundays - Blind
The Sundays - Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
Young the Giant - Young the Giamt

Ok there are more, but I got a little out of control as it is. What are your favorites?? Do you feel the same way as me or am I a maniac?

Oh. My. Goodness I'm lazy

Wow, I popped online today and headed over to my blog so I could catch up on my reading and realized that I haven't posted since August.  August?  Really?  Wow it's been a long time.
It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's just that I've been so busy that I haven't even thought about posting.  I haven't taken a photo since September.  What is wrong with me?

It's a combination of work, ghost hunting, and knitting like a maniac to make sure I have Christmas gifts done by the time the holidays roll around.  I've got lots to say.  I just have to make time to say it.
I guess it's time to make good use of that blogging app I have for my phone.

What's going on with all of you?