Pizza

Pizza, pizza, pizza! I LOVE PIZZA! Pizza is the bane of my weightless existence. I have no shut off when it comes to pizza. If my daughter's didn't eat the same toppings as me, I would have eaten the whole pie. I've tried to stop eating pizza but it's like I have withdrawal symptoms the same was you would giving up caffeine or cigarettes and I've given both of those thing up yet pizza still plagues me. I could eat pizza everyday and there was a point during my twenties when my husband and I spent at the very least 3K on pizza. That’s a lot of pizza and definitely before, we had kids.

A national pizza chain sponsors the Washington Capitals and if the Caps win and score four or more goals, you can receive 50% off your order. Which means I can order two large pizzas for $16.00, how can you pass up a deal like that? Last night the Caps won 4-1 and guess what I cooked (lol) for dinner...PIZZA! And as I finish this post, the Caps have just scored their fourth goal and we still have another period to play. Could I be serving pizza two nights in a row?

Grant me the strength Lord to resist the possible pies in my future.

Lists Make Way for Dreams

Do you dream all the time or only occasionally? I dream all the time! Sometimes too much and I run into problems getting to the non-dream stuff. I love a leisurely pace. I’m rarely in a hurry to get anywhere. However, that doesn’t mean I’m always late, on the contrary I’m usually early.  Some mistake my leisurely pace for procrastination, but it that’s not the case. I’m an observer with tendencies to do and get things started and finished. I don’t think a procrastinator could lead a leisurely pace of life because they would always be trying to get current with whatever they have due.

When I notice I am panicking about getting projects finished I step back and look at my dream life. If my dream journal is over flowing then I know I ‘m spending too much time in La La Land. To continue living my laid-back way I needed to go back to making to do lists. My to do lists help me prioritize, if I get the major things finished then I can do the fun things like playing with my dogs and lounging on the deck with them and day dreaming!

Take today as an example:

My To Do List
       
4 am wake, shower and drink coffee       
4:30 am write, work on novel       
5:30 am wake daughter continue writing       
6 am wake other daughter. Get things together
for AM Day Care       
6:15 am continue with Daycare stuff or write if
DC is ready until first child arrives       
8:30 am Walk Day care kids to school       
8:45 am Italian Homework       
9:30 am Blog       
10 am go back to writing      
12 pm finish up loose ends       
12:30 pm lunch       
1 pm – 3 pm Free Me Time!       
3 pm – 6 pm Day Care       
6 pm – 10 pm Family time

Today is an easy day because it’s Friday and I try to do the least amount of work on this day. I do laundry while I write or after drinking my coffee. All the other household chores like sweeping, vacuuming and dusting I do as a part of getting the day care ready. The first floor of my home has never been cleaner since I opened the day care. The upstairs is another story, it’s a disaster but I don’t worry about that, because no one ever sees the upstairs and I have better things to do than make my bed or room spotless, like day dreaming, writing or playing with my dogs! 

My lists let me continue to dream!

Until next time, live well now!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

How time flies when you have too much to accomplish in life
the years fly too. I turned 40 at the end of December and it seems like
yesterday I was twenty and getting married. Yup, that means I’ll be married
twenty years this year! Sometimes that seems like 50. The husband knows I say
and write things like that so no worries. I’m sure he feels the same. How can
you not when you’re with the same person 24, 7, 365 for 20 years!

Our family is planning to grow this year. No, not because I’m
pregnant because that ship has sailed and sunk. We have started the process to
become foster parents and possibly adoptive parents. The entire family is
excited and nervous.  Our oldest daughter
is gearing up for SAT’s and all the fun that comes with finding a college and
getting into said college. Funny thing is we could end up at the same college
at the same time because I want to finish the degree I started 20+ years ago.
Should be fun.

Since I don’t make resolutions, I thought I’d share a few of
my aspirations for the coming year.

1.      
Continue to lose weight through diet and
exercise. I’m currently 175. I gained no weight during the holidays.

2.      
Get back into my photography. I haven’t shot
much the previous three years and now that I’m feeling well and energized, I
feel my creativity picking up steam.

3.      
Continue with my current novel manuscript and
get back into a working critique group. I’m coming ladies, you know who you are
J

4.      
Grow my daycare business.

5.      
Finally yet importantly is to spend more time
together with my family.

Until next time, live well now.

Digging Out and Open for Business

Well, I've had enough snow for the winter. I like the snow
if it doesn't affect me. I guess I would never survive in places like Vermont or Minnesota.
The cold air has wreaked havoc on my asthma. The DH spent Saturday through
Monday digging out our driveway and our next door neighbor. Because of his hard
work I was able to open my daycare yesterday for those parents who couldn't
take a snow day.

Since the Federal Government was closed my DH had the day
off and was a prince to help me by taking the kids across the street to the
elementary school to play. They went sledding and built a couple of snowmen.

My dog Josie is wishing the snow would go away. She doesn’t
like having the cold snow touch her when she pees. Wyatt is the exact opposite.
He loves the snow. He spent the last two days searching for his red Kong ball in
the back yard. He found it and now he’s a happy pup.

Well here are a few more photos from the past few days.

 

Until next time live well now.

Snowstorm Here

The snow arrived last night at 6 pm and by 8 pm we had close to two inches on the ground. The streets were already getting slushy. As is the case in most cities the idiots were out driving too fast. The grocery store shelves were empty of milk, bread and toilet paper. Thankfully I’m fully stocked with the TP and the DH and I grabbed the last gallon of milk at BJ’s. The snow grocery list for my family differed from what most were buying. My list consisted of Greek yogurt, cinnamon buns, pizza sauce, soda and the obligatory hot chocolate and marshmallows. There was other stuff but for the life of me I can’t remember what we bought.

Now it’s 10 am and there’s more than a foot on the ground. The wind is whipping the snow off the roofs. It’s odd to see all the snow on the ground and hardly any on the roofs. My dog Wyatt is like a kid in the candy store. He loves the snow. He’s been in and out all morning. We have yellow snow on our deck that’s how I know Josie our other dog isn’t leaving the safety of the porch.

Now I’m off to watch a movie. Until next time, live well now.

Big Time Snow Storm On the Way!

It's coming...the first gigantic snowstorm in seven years. We've had little
snow in Northern and Central Virginia over the
last few years. Starting later this afternoon we will begin to see the first flakes
which are supposed to accumulate to over 12 + inches! Thankfully I have my
Christmas shopping complete. The only thing I need to do is go grocery shopping
tonight after the day care kids go home.

I like snow as long as it happens on a weekend and the kids don't get out of
school. So this storm is just fine with me. Today is the last day of school and
winter break begins, so this snow is more than welcome because the days off are
already planned.

On the writing front I completed NaNo as I stated before and I almost
finished the story. I ended NaNo with over 70K and I finished writing the story
on December 7th with a word count over 85K. I've been skimming through the
pages and it's the most complete story I've ever written, maybe it really
will be my Lucky 13. I'm truly surprised since it borders the mainstream/chick
lit genre and I want to be a horror/suspense writer. As I read I feel a real
sense of accomplishment and I am more in love with my characters than I've ever
been. So I definitely plan to work this novel to the end and hopefully
write/right into publication.

Until next time Live well NOW!

NaNo Goal Complete and My New Kitchen Appliance

I made my NaNo goal! Actually I made it last week on the 18^th
of November. As of today I am just shy of 60K. I think it’ll take another 15 to
18K to finish the story and I’m hoping to complete it by Wednesday. Whether I
write the end of the story by the 25^th I will validate my word
count. I will finish this story. As I’ve kept writing Lucy’s story I like her
and her story more. I’m excited about writing again and I look forward to
meeting my characters at the keyboard.

Now I have to tell you about a huge appliance deal I got
yesterday! I was out running errands with my husband and one of our stops was one
of the big box home improvement stores. We went in looking for a showerhead
with a filter and came out with a new refrigerator. I huge leap in purchase but
we’ve been shopping for a refrigerator for the last year because I wanted a
specific style. I wanted the French door style with the freezer on the bottom.
I wanted ice and water and I wanted it for under $1200.

Yesterday as we cruised the aisles for the showerhead I saw
a row of refrigerators that had clearance tags and made a mental not to check
them out after we found the showerhead. Well, we didn’t find the showerhead but
we were curious about one refrigerator. Actually I saw the stainless model first
and the regular price was over 2K but was on sale for $1300, not bad but more
than I wanted to pay, but low enough I considered going for it. Luckily my
penny pinching instinct kicked in and I look at the reduced/damaged and clearance
models again and standing there was a white refrigerator it didn’t have a
reduced price on it so before I asked a sales person I had the hubby check the
model number against the stainless one and found out it was the same model. If
you pay any kind of attention to appliances you know that black is cheaper than
stainless and white appliances are cheaper than black and stainless.

Long story made shorter the white model was on sale for
$1198 from $1898 and with the damage discount I purchased it for $1032
including taxes and delivery! I saved over 40% on this refrigerator and the
only damage was a dent with some white color missing on the right side, which isn’t
a problem for me because it won’t be seen. Hey, I hear a truck…It’s my refrigerator!
 

Until next time, live well now.

Fear Be Gone!

Fear is definitely wasted energy, which was never clearer
than yesterday for me. My biggest fear is the dentist. When I was young I had a
horrible experience with a dentist. It was the kind of experience nightmares
are made of, whirling drills, sucking sounds and high pitched squeals. All the
sounds that make my teeth ache and send shivers up my spine. The dentist
believed no matter the age pain management was not needed. At nine or ten I was
scared. It was my first time having a cavity filled and a straggly tooth pulled.
On top of all that he wouldn’t let my mother be with me during the procedures.
I screamed bloody murder while strapped to the chair and the dentist drilled
and then without warning pulled my tooth. Thirty years later I am still freaked
when I go to the dentist. The smell and sounds take me right back to that awful
chair.

Yesterday was the first time I’d been to the dentist in
three years. It was finally time to walk the walk and smile the smile of a
complete and healthy life. A healthy mouth has a huge impact on health. Our
teeth and gums are linked to our heart health. I arrived early at the office a
terrible habit I have and then waited for too long. I was so nervous that I
couldn’t read my book. Finally I was called to “The Room”. The dental assistant
was sweet almost too sweet that made me more nervous. My pulse quickened and my
palms started to sweat and they never sweat. I stopped at the door to “The
Room” took a deep breath and walked through as I exhaled. The tech or whatever
their title is was wonderful. She put me at ease and cleaned my teeth mindful
of the places I said were sensitive. With in minutes my pulse was normal and I
was okay. I actually smiled…until the doctor was called to finish the exam. It
took a few minutes and I heard whatever machine makes that awful shrill sound
and almost bolted through the window that was directly in front of me. But I
thought, “My kids will be here this afternoon and that might embarrass them.” I
never thought it would embarrass me because the fear consumed my rational
thinking. My pulse went from a resting rate of 68 to 125 in the span of 20
seconds. Deep breaths didn’t work this time. The dentist saw my panic and
stopped to just talk to me. It worked and I was able to collect my panic and
stuff it away. My newly trimmed fingernails left half moon marks on my palms while
I retreated to my happy place.  

And here’s why I believe fear is wasted energy and time. My
check up went amazingly well and there was nothing major wrong with my teeth.
Nothing terrible happened; I was told I had great teeth and great bone health.
This dentist is not the mad dentist from my childhood. I lost sleep and way too
much time worrying what would happen. What a waste. Hopefully when May 24^th
approaches I won’t freak and if I start I’ll remember the painless exam of
yesterday.

Until next time, live well now.

Weighty Issues

Last Saturday my 16 year-old DD (driving daughter) was legal
to drive alone in the car! Oi, I have more new grey hairs than I had last Friday.
She spent her Saturday in the car. She drove to speed skating practice with her
twelve year-old sister, then she drove home from there and then they both went
to the mall. I was a nervous wreck all day. She drove to practice again on
Sunday not so bad that day, but last night I kept watching the clock after 8:30
pm waiting for her to get home from work. Does it get any easier or will I be
grey hair before the end of the year?

Last night I made Penne with Sausage, Garlic and Broccoli
Rabe only I substituted spinach for the broccoli rabe because I forgot to buy
it. It was delicious! I had my doubts because I don’t usually like sausage, but
the turkey sausage was fantastic. Of course the youngest daughter and husband
didn’t like it. The husband said the noodles didn’t have enough taste. How
would he know he has a perpetual stuffy nose? The taste was perfect, if I do
say so myself. It’s a keeper for me because it’s quick to make from beginning to
end it took about 40 minutes. That goes quickly if you drink a glass of wine
and listen to music while you cook.

Currently I’m reading The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson. Not
sure I like this one, but then I’m only 40 pages in. I’m listening to Michael
Buble, newest album Crazy Love.

Quick weight update- Last update September 29, 2009

 

• BP is still
  averaging 115/65

• Weight down 8 pounds to 167 my
  goal through the end of the year    is to
  maintain this number.

• Waist is still 35 inches.

• BMI is down to 28% from 30%

• Cholesterol
  is the same 175 overall, HDL 65 LDL below 100. Before my thyroid medication, my
  cholesterol was 350 (anything over 200 is considered high, my HDL was below 45,
  and my LDL was above 100. HDL (the good higher is better) below 60 for women
  makes us more susceptible to heart attack and stroke. High LDL (the bad the
  lower the number the better) numbers increase your risk of heart attack and
  stroke. Hypothyroid can cause high cholesterol, so if your numbers are high and
  you have several symptoms for an over or under active thyroid get your thyroid
  function measured.

Until next time, live well now.

The Fourth Kind

Friday night my 16 year-old went to the movies. Not a big
deal other than it scared the CRAP out of her! LOL! She saw The Fourth Kind. I’ve
read the reviews and watched the trailers, the movie is supposed to be based on
fact. The trailers remind me of the awful movie Blair Witch Project. Anyhow my
daughter came home afraid. I fell asleep on the couch in my family room and she
was scared enough that she slept at the other end of the couch with me. She
even wanted me to clear off the chaise in my bedroom so she could sleep there
Saturday night! I said no and she slept in her room with the light on. So was
the movie really that scary? And if so why was it PG-13, sounds like it should
have been R.

 After my weekend off from NaNo I wrote close to 3K this
morning and I think based on the page count from 9 am to 11 am I’ll have
another 2K to add once I transcribe. I thought I would have a harder time
getting back into the writing but the story is starting to click. Currently I’m
at 22K and I hope to have at least 24K by the end of the evening. I’d like to
have met the 50K goal by Nov. 20^th. If I’m able to meet that goal I
think I might finish the book in 30 days. I am estimating that the ending will
come around 85K. If you’re looking for some inspiration to keep you going
during week two of NaNo check out Joyce Anthony’s blog. She has many
participants there sharing their experiences including me.

Until next time, live well now.

Parental Moment

Yesterday the DH and I added our daughter to the car
insurance policy. The reality has set in that we have a child old enough to
drive! I don’t feel nearly old or mature enough to have a child driving! This
leads me to wonder will I ever be mature enough to raise my children. Despite
my feeling immature my girls are wonderful human beings and even though I making
it up as I go they’re okay.

DD (Driving Daughter) has a job and already pays for her
cell phone and now she will add car insurance to her monthly bills. She doesn’t
appear distressed about this prospect, but I’m sure that will change when she
writes me the check for her share next month.

We set a few rules for use of the car.

1. No
   friends in the car until we deem she’s ready.


2. If she
   drives to school she must drive her sister home unless she has to work.


3. If she
   misses an insurance payment she loses her driving privileges for the month
   or until she pays her bill.


4. She
   must pay for her own gas.


5. No
   talking or texting while driving. If caught doing either she will lose her
   driving privileges for the time the DH and I deem appropriate.
   

I guess those rules go against me saying I’m immature. I am
mostly immature but occasionally my mature parental side appears. 

Now for the immature writer side of me, NaNo is going well!
I should be close to 20K tomorrow. I won’t get much writing time tomorrow
because I’ll be renewing my CPR and First Aid certificates. And the fact that I
don’t usually write in the weekends, I will take my notebook with me so I can
try and write during the breaks.

I just found out that I'll have the entire Thanksgiving
Weekend to myself. My DH and DD's are going to Greensboro for a huge speed skating meet. I'm
so excited! I'm sad I'll miss the kids skating, but having four full days alone
is precious. I get to replenish my soul! And curl up on the couch with my
puppies and watch movies. I'm hoping I'll have reached the 50K goal so I can
take the chick lit novel I'm writing and twist it into the horror novel that is
knocking on my skull. My notebooks are filled with Post Its on the ideas of
where to twist and rewrite. But since I decided to write a chick lit book I am
going to finish it and then get back to what I love, Horror.

Until next time, live well now.

H1N1 Vaccine: Finally Available

Finally, the H1N1 vaccine was available to the children in
my community. I did the research and made the decision to have my children 12
and 16 years vaccinated. I also based my decision on the fact that I run a
before and after school program from my home and daycares are breeding grounds
for flu and other illnesses. As a provider of care I go beyond what is required
for disinfecting. I’m constantly instructing the children on the proper ways to
cough and sneeze and wash their hands.  I’m
doing my part when the kids are with me so hopefully none of my kids, daycare
included get sick.

It’s day 5 of NaNo and the words are flowing! Thank the big
man upstairs. I’m still not digging the whole chick lit genre, but I’m going to
continue with writing this type of novel because this is my chance to step
outside my writing comfort zone. Right now I’m pleased with the almost 15K I’ve
written, maybe if I have the 50K by Thanksgiving I can go back and insert my
creepy factor into a copy of the file. Then I’ll have two potential novels.  Now it’s time to get back to completing my
writing goal for the day.

Until next time, live well now.

More Cookin' and Writin'

I’ve been doin’ a little more cookin’. My husband didn’t
like last nights dinner, one daughter couldn’t stand the peppers and the other
daughter liked everything but the rice! What’s a mom to do? I loved the whole
dish. I made Green Curry Chicken (page 166 of Oct. 09 Cooking Light). It was
easy and I enjoyed eating it, though I could have added more green curry paste
to add more flavor. It’s one I will make again possibly adding a few more
winter vegetables, more curry paste and instead of the Basmati rice I’ll use a
brown rice. Tonight I think I will make pork chops with salt and pepper,
broccoli and homemade apple sauce from granny smith apples. This is a repeat
meal that the entire family enjoyed a few weeks ago.

And I’ve been doin’ more writing to get ready for NaNoWriMo.
Today I was working on the male character for my book and I’ve got his physical
appearance, job and a basic overall vision for his demeanor and how it might
evolve as the book progresses. What I don’t have is a name, well I have one...the
first name that came to me was Jasper Cruise and that’s because those were the
names on the name tags of the café workers where I was writing. Not sure either
name will stick. I think I’ll go with it and see what happens when I actually
start writing on November 1^st. Meanwhile I think I’ll go through
Chris Baty’s No Plot, No Problem to see if I can add anything to my note cards
before the first.

Until next time, live well now.

College Night

Last night I felt my age. I don’t feel
almost 40 but last night I was knocked on the head with the fact that my oldest
is a junior in HS and looking at colleges. Yes…we went to our first college
night. Daughter and I were a tad disappointed, only a handful of the colleges
and universities she’s interested in attended.

She checked into Bridgewater
and Mary Washington, George Mason, UNC at Greensboro
all of which were on her list. She stumbled into the path of a Wake Forest
rep, liked what the representative had to say all the while DD’s Dad and I
almost fell over at the 52K year tuition. Between financial aids, scholarships
and so on she could go but it’s still sobering to see that price tag.

Daughter still needs more information from University of Vermont,
Univ. of Michigan
and MI State, Princeton, George Washington and
a few other smaller schools I can’t remember. If she were to attend a MI school
she could live with her GP’s and after a year claim residency to get in state
tuition. The husband and I plan to make arrangements with the GP’s to visit
above schools, but for now getting on their mailing lists is the first step.
Some of the above schools are already in contact with DD because of her PSAT
scores and current GPA. Yippee! Right, this is all good. Is my excited mood going to change the closer she gets to leaving? I didn't cry when she went to kindergarten so that means I won't break when she leaves for college...right?

I guess there are worse ways to feel your age and having a
kid that’s almost the age of consent is one of the better ways.

Until next time, live well now.

Scary Stuff

My latest cooking attempts haven’t gone over as well as I
thought. Last Saturday I made nachos with the pork tenderloin. It tasted
fantastic, but took too long to make. I’m into making anything that takes less
than 30 minutes and this took a little over an hour. I went with one of my
regular dinners the other night and cooked a whole chicken in the crock-pot.
Tonight I am going to use a portion of the leftovers to make chicken noodle
soup and then I’ll take the last of the chicken and do chicken tacos. My daughters
like those but the husband doesn’t so he’ll need to cook a hamburger.

I run a before and after school program from my home for
school age kids and right now we are getting ready for Halloween. Funny thing
is that Halloween is probably one of my least favorite days of the year. I love
the scary stuff but I dislike the trick or tricking. Didn’t like it as a kid
and still don’t like it. Nevertheless, that’s unimportant when you care for
children who love the holiday. For the last week, we’ve been making origami
bats and skulls and today we are making skulls out of fake pears turned upside
down. Today we’ll do the first step of painting them a gray-black color and
then hang them to dry and finish them tomorrow with white paint and the faces.

Since it’s raining here and we’re stuck inside I also have a
skeleton project for them to make out of cotton swabs and little spiders made
from the Crystal Light singles containers. Pictures will follow. Wish me luck I
live in a county that just cut our children’s recess time down from 30 minutes
to 15 minutes.

Until next time, live well now.

Favorite Thing to Do

What do you do for you? You know that one thing or things
that lift your spirit and fill your soul. Two of my favorite things to do are
go walking with my dogs and play ball with my dog Wyatt while the other dog
Josie sits beside me. If I have her look figured out, she’s laughing at Wyatt
for his repetitive OCD behavior. Lady throws the ball; Wyatt returns the ball
and waits for the lady to throw it again. How many times can he do this…Apparently
all day!

My dogs are a huge part of my stress relief regime. Life is
simple for them. Mom (me) gets their food, lets them out to potty, plays games
to wear them out and then walks them to keep the pounds off their body and to
melt them off mine. All they want is a little time and I can give that to them and
the best part is it benefits both of us. Even during these stressful times, I’ve
remained calm. The exercise I get helps me keep a clear head and when they sit
with me and I pet them, it lowers my blood pressure. They love the simple
things and they remind each day to keep it simple.

So what lifts your spirit and fills your soul?

Until next time, live well now.

Good Eats and Words Flow

Dinner last night was delicious! I made shrimp and pine nut
spaghetti minus the pine nuts. I’m not a huge fan of nuts in my food and
neither are my kids so I left them out. I loved the sauce and the parmigiano-reggiano
cheese was worth every penny. It was easy to make and took 30 minutes from
start to finish; this one is worth keeping.

I’ve added more layers to the main female character for this
year NaNo challenge. I have her occupation or former job planned and her
unexpected rise to fame via the Internet. I’ve gotten the beginning sketches of
three more characters and the plot/story is coming into focus. This is the
first time since 2003 when I jumped into fiction writing that I’ve seen a story
so clearly. I usually write by the tip of my pen and so far, 12 novels written
I haven’t been able to get past the agents desk. So plotting with index cards
and detailed character sketches appears to be working for me. The hardest part
is waiting until November to start writing.

Currently I’m spending an hour or two on the NaNo project
and then a couple of hours working on my NaNo novel from 2007. It’s been
through at least three total rewrites and something is still compelling me to
rework this story. I can’t quite put my pen on what is missing but it will show
eventually, it always has in the past.

Until next time, live well now.

What are You Watching

Well the fritatta flopped with my youngest daughter and my
husband. The husband said it was ok but the mushrooms were too fresh! Meaning I
should have used the canned variety. The freshness of the mushrooms is what I
liked about the meal. I would make the meal again.

Let’s get away from the food talk and talk TV. What are you
watching or recording on your DVR?

I must admit I am a television addict. I love TV more than
my computer and the Internet.

Network TV has disappointed me in the last few years. The
shows I watch on network TV are ones that have been on for more than two
seasons. The best shows in my opinion are showing on channels like USA,
TNT and so on. Notice not a Law and Order or spinoff in the mix. Here’s my long
list-

• General Hospital (ABC)


• Ace of
  Cakes


• HawthoRNe


• Warehouse
  13


• Criminal
  Minds (CBS)


• Medium
  (CBS, formerly NBC)


• Ghost
  Whisperer (CBS)


• The
  Big Bang Theory (CBS one of the funniest shows on network TV)


• Fringe
  (Fox)


• Bones
  (Fox)


• NCIS
  (CBS)


• Focus
  Earth with Bob Woodruff (Planet Green)


• House
  (Fox)


• The
  Mentalist (CBS)


• Eureka (SyFy)


• Leverage
  (TNT)


• In
  Plain Sight (USA)


• Phineas
  and Ferb (Disney DX)


• Wipeout
  (ABC)


• Burn
  Notice (USA)


• Being
  Human (BBC America)


• Doctor
  Who (BBC America unfortunately no new episodes after the movie aired early
  this year.)


• Torchwood
  (BBC America also sad there won’t be any new episodes)


• The
  Vampire Diaries (DC 50 this is more for my daughters reminds me too much
  of the crappy Twilight series. It’ll probably leave my list.)


• The Dr.
  Oz Show (CBS)


• Design
  Star (HGTV my guilty pleasure)


• Modern
  Family (ABC the jury is still out on this one. I thought it would be
  funnier.)


• The
  Middle (ABC I thought this one was funnier than Modern Family but not
  funnier than Big Bang Theory.)


• Sanctuary
  (SyFy not sure it’s coming back on)


• The
  Philanthropist (NBC enjoyed this over the summer which is probably why NBC
  won’t renew.)

Not all of the shows are on at the
same time. At least half of them air during the summer. I’d be bug eyed if I
watched all that TV at once .I’d never get any work accomplished. One show I
loved was Life. It aired on NBC. It was written well and the acting was superb,
that’s usually a good indication that NBC will cancel.

Tell me what you’re watching.

Until next time, live well now.

Food and Words

I was going to write about a pet peeve and I actually had
half a page written but then I deleted it. I decided that the negativity of my
peeve wasn’t worth the time and words it was taking to tell. I got most of it
out and when I deleted the half page I felt better and I didn’t whine to anyone
coming across this post.

 

Now what am I going to write. Well about last nights dinner
of Spice-rubbed pork chops and Sweet Potato fries. It was excellent. I thought
I didn’t like sweet potatoes but it turns out I do and what I don’t like is the
syrupy crap that they’re usually prepared with especially during the holidays.
I’ve added another food to my cooking repertoire.

 

Last night I figured out the career of the main female
character in my new novel. The whole subject and plot of the book is timely and
a genre I’ve not thought of writing, no it isn’t a romance. There’s nothing
wrong with that genre, I know that it’s not for me. I have a great respect for
romance writers. My new story also has nothing to do with horror, paranormal
and the like. I’m actually questioning whether I now how to write for
characters that aren’t furry or have a mouth full of fang. That’s why I am
participating in NaNo. November is my chance to stretch my quill. Okay I could
do this any time but NaNo has become a fall tradition for me. It’s a chance for
me to write outside my lines and renew my writing spirit.

 

How do you renew your spirit or refill your well?

 

Until next time, live well now!    

Cooking This Week

In my dreams, I’m an accomplished chef; however, I live in
reality where I cook passably. I don’t like to cook, bake or anything that has
to do with the kitchen. And the funny part is that anyone who eats my cooking
says I’m good. Since I am a mom and wife I have to cook because if I didn’t no
one else would. It’s no easy task to cook when you don’t like the process. I
don’t find it relaxing actually, it’s a chore to me and like any other chore,
it needs to be completed. Since I have to cook I’ve became a regular reader of
Cooking Light magazine and over the last month, my family tried pork chops and
tenderloin for the first time. You read that right my kids had not eaten pork
until a month ago. This week alone we are trying five new meals from the
current Cooking Light magazine.

 

Tonight’s menu Spiced Rubbed Pork Chops page 86

w/Sweet Potato Wedges and Lemon Green Beans

 

Tuesday night we’re going to have a Mushroom Frittata
w/small green salad page 168

 

Wednesday Pork and Pinto Bean Nachos page162

 

Thursday Green Curry Chicken page 166

 

Friday Homemade whole wheat crust pizza my own recipe.

 

Saturday Udon Soup with Shrimp page 122

 

I am not a foodie either, if it tastes good I eat it. If it
tastes nasty, I don’t. The best part of using Cooking Light magazine is that
the recipes are light on the calories and high on taste so everyone in the
family can eat and enjoy the foods. I can lose weight and eat great too.

 

Today’s exercise plan 2.5 miles brisk walking with the dogs.
10 minutes of stretching and 30 minutes using the resistance bands, all
completed by 10 am today. Tomorrow I’ll be walking 2.5 miles and doing 30
minutes of yoga.

 

What’s your favorite exercise plan and/or favorite meal?

 

Until next time, live well now.