Karma – It’s a Wicked Thing!

Sitting here thinking about what to blog about.

I already milked my cataract surgery for all it’s worth so time to move on to something at least halfway interesting that doesn’t include body parts or involve a book review but can’t think of a thing.

Nope, not a thing.

Don’t you just hate when that happens?

You sit in front of the keyboard with your fingers desperate to type but there’s absolutely nothing floating around in your pea brain that’s fit to share with the rest of the world. At times like these, you suffer for your art in a way that only the truly devoted can understand. All you want to do is tap, tap, tap on those keys but not a thing pops into your head.

Blog writing 101

A friend gave me a book a few years ago about how writers should get out of bed every morning and just write. It doesn’t matter what you write. What matters is the physical act of writing. It’s supposed to get the juices flowing and the ideas churning and finally, when you least expect it, brilliance flies from your fingertips right to your keyboard and the great American novel is born. (LOL!)

I can’t remember the name of the book but I vaguely recall it was something along the lines of The Art of Writing, or maybe something sorta like that. Anyway, the gist of it was that if you want to be a writer, you have to be intentional about it. You can’t just sit down and start typing gibberish. (What?)

Carrying on …

I would share with you the actual title of that book except that I must have given it away (maybe to Goodwill) because I sure can’t find it on any of my bookshelves and I just wasted a good five minutes searching for it. I did come across a couple of other reads, however, that you might find interesting.

The first is What Is Karma? by Paul Brunton. It caught my eye as I was scanning the shelves because I’m pretty sure tonight’s writer’s block is really just payback for giving away that other book.

The second is Calendar Humanity’s Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year by David Ewing Duncan. This is a fascinating little book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about how we got to where we are today. Seriously, it’s a page-turner. (And, no, I’m not being sarcastic. Promise!)

When all else fails …

I spent another 5 minutes scanning Amazon.com for a title about writing that looked familiar but no luck. Did you know there are about a gazillion books out there that explain writing everything from books to screenplays?

I did come across a couple of interesting titles that might be worth taking a peek at, for example:

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creative Writing, 2nd Edition by Laurie E. Rozakis

Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay by Adair Lara

I have to fess up that I’ve not read either of these books. I also have to admit that I just love the titles so I might one day.

Maybe.

My Top 10 Love/Hate Relationships

Posted by goodoldgirl

I’m sitting here, sleepy, but can’t go to slumberville ’til the laundry‘s done. Yep, I do laundry on Saturday night. (My life truly is fascinating.) Waiting for the last load to dry, my fingers are itching to type, though, I’ve already posted one blog entry today. (It was really boring. You don’t want to read it. Has a poll. Really dorky.)

Anyhow, I was thinking about how much I hate doing laundry but love having clean clothes and just could not stop myself from sharing my thoughts on love/hate relationships. So, in no particular order, with the loves on the left and the hates on the right (don’t want you to start thinking I like cleaning), here goes …

1. Cooking/Cleaning Up the Kitchen

I really enjoy the process of cooking, especially when I have plenty of time and there are people around who enjoy a good meal. Scrubbing pots and pans, cleaning up the kitchen … Yuck!

2. A Clean House/Cleaning the House

There is something so comforting about a clean house. The fresh smell. Everything in order. Pure bliss. All the time and energy it takes to get it, not to mention keeping it, clean just wears me out. Lugging the vacuum up and down the stairs is the worst. If I ever won the lottery, the first thing I’d do is hire a cleaning service.

3. Anything Chocolate/The Calories in Chocolate

I don’t know who first discovered chocolate or making chocolate but that person deserves sainthood in my book. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate covered anything — yum! Gaining weight from all those calories in chocolate. Not so yum.

4. Driving/Traffic

I’ve been driving with a stick shift for almost 40 years. it makes driving more fun regardless of the kind of vehicle. A dump truck with a stick shift would be fun to drive. Traffic, however, is the armpit of driving. It’s smelly and obnoxious and, sometimes, hair-raising!

5. Getting Paid/Working

Money, money, money, money, money. Who doesn’t like having money? I don’t need a lot. Just enough to pay the bills and buy books and chocolate but, through some weirdly crooked twist of fate, I was not born into wealth. (Maybe I squandered money in a past life and this life is teaching me a lesson. Nah!) It’s not the working I dislike. I enjoy the work that I do. It’s the getting there that makes me bonkers — an hour-long commute is way too much traffic for me. I am thankful, though, that I have a job, especially one that I like.

6. Sunrises/Waking Up Early

A fresh new day. The first glimmer of light over the horizon. Looking out at God‘s beautiful creation with renewed vision each morning. On the flip side — the alarm clock, cleaning the litter box, commuting to work. Yuck!

7. Flower Gardening/Pulling Weeds

Roses, columbines, peonies, lilacs, hydrangea, lilies, iris, and a gazillion other blooming bits of beauty. Then there’s the crawling around on hands and knees yanking out the wildlings that threaten to strangle those beautiful buds. Did I mention the worms. Creepy!

8. Reading Books/The Cost of a Home Library

Literature, pop fiction, science fiction, fantasy, chick lit, the list goes on and on and I love them all. You can find used books for pennies (well, quarters) all over the place. But if you’re like me, and have shelves full of books that have become old friends, it can be a budget buster. But, worth every penny!

9. Rainy Days/ Getting Rained On

My favorite day of the year is the first rainy Saturday in the Fall. I spend the whole day curled up in a big chair reading. It’s heaven on earth. Going out on a dark rainy day, however, is just asking for frizzy hair and drippy makeup. So, why can’t I remember that umbrella?

10. Cats/ Cleaning the Litter Box

Purring, softest fur, squeaky little meows – Emmie and Ollie! Why do they have to poop so much? You’d think once a day each would be enough. But, no, not these cats! And, always while I’m sitting here at my MAC with the cat box just around the corner in the powder room — a scant 10 feet away. And, why does Emmie always jump up on my desk right after doing her business? Stinky!!

So, that’s my list. What’s on yours?

A Stat Hound’s Woe

Posted by goodoldgirl

So, I all but ignore my blog for a few days and what happens? Not a thing!

No one (well, hardly anyone) visits my blog for days – and days – and days.

What gives? Do I have to write a new post every day? Really?

So many books. So little time!

Can’t do it. Got too many other things to do! For example …

Reading: my stack of books-to-read is growing, and growing
I need to fill out my 1040 – yep, I pushed it to the edge this year (haven’t even started)
Work, work, work, work, work
Emmie and Ollie (my cats): they need some attention soon or they’re going to blackball me out of the family (caught them in a corner whispering the other day, nothing good can come from that)
My garden: pitifully small as it is, I still had to take a big chunk out of last Saturday to clean it up and get it ready for Spring planting (that’s assuming Spring ever comes back, been pretty chilly here the last few days)
House cleaning: nah, that one won’t fly
Sore ankle? oh, never mind

So, have I convinced you that I’ve got a lot on my plate?

Speaking of plates, it’s time to fix dinner.

AACK!

Let me think. What’s in the fridge?

I know! I can make Good Old Girls Shrimp Fried Rice and broccoli with cheese sauce. Only takes about 40 minutes! Here’s how:

1 Box of Frozen Broccoli with Cheese Sauce (I like Green Giant)
1/2 Pound of small shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 Bag Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Boil-in-Bag Brown Rice
2 eggs
2-4 Tbsp. Butter or Margarine
1-2 Tbsp. Finely Chopped Onions (can use dried if you don’t have fresh onions)
Garlic Salt (as much as you can stand)

Follow directions on box for frozen broccoli. Green Giant requires 12 minutes in boiling water – on each side.

When you turn over the broccoli, put the rice in a pan of boiling water per instructions on box. If using Uncle Ben’s, takes about 12 minutes to cook.

Good Old Girls Shrimp Fried Rice

Melt butter in saute pan, add onions, add eggs and scramble in pan (chop into small bits while scrambling), add garlic salt to taste. When eggs are done, add shrimp, stir and let simmer. When rice is done, drain and add to egg and shrimp mixture. Mix well. Serve with broccoli and bread of your choice. (I like the Wheat Bolillois from the Walmart bakery. They freeze nicely and are easy to heat in the oven.)

Serves two to four, depending on how hungry you are.

Yum!

PS: My daughter loved this when she was a kid.