Today is my Monday. I decree it so. Yes, I know it's actually Tuesday, but yesterday was catastrophe after catastrophe, leaving me completely exhausted mentally and physically by three in the afternoon without having any writing to show for it. Real life can be so demanding that way, showing up at the most inconvenient moments, when I have deadlines calling my name.
Not that today will be much better, to be honest. Tuesday afternoons have two different guitar lessons, mine and my son's, and tonight is the band/choir concert at my daughter's high school. I'm part of the bake sale committee for the band boosters, which means I'll be arriving with twenty dozen cookies of seven different varieties that I've made over the past two days to sell. That was actually the only non-stressful part of the past two days. I volunteer because it gives me an excuse to bake without having to have all the sugar stay at my house. We can have a cookie or two apiece of each kind, then I get to send all the rest off. Sweet deal, if you ask me.
So maybe that means Wednesday will actually be my Monday. Considering I only have three hours of viable writing time today, I might have to consider that.
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Friday, September 11, 2015
A Day of Deference
In deference to the memory of all those who lost their lives on this infamous day in American history, I'm not blogging or hanging out on social media as I usually do on Friday.
Instead, I'm going to focus on my family and the gift I've been granted by having them in my life. Time is precious. Lives are too short.
Honor the dead by embracing the living.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Instead, I'm going to focus on my family and the gift I've been granted by having them in my life. Time is precious. Lives are too short.
Honor the dead by embracing the living.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Calling it early this week
Though I would love to have a real post for today and tomorrow, I've managed to catch my daughter's cold and have been pretty useless for the past couple days. So I'm going to cut my losses early this week, and wish everybody a good weekend now.
We don't have any plans for the American holiday, but if you go, have fun!
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Going through withdrawal
I'm in withdrawal.
Two weeks ago, we started on our mostly-vegan meal plan here in my household. Lots and lots of vegetables, a salad every day, virtually no animal products. It's not been impossible, but I'd be lying if I said it was easy, and not for the reasons I anticipated.
I love to plan, so that's not the hardship. It's the boredom. I get lots of flavors, but what I'm missing is texture. Creaminess. Crunchiness. Roasting vegetables can occasionally give me the latter, but it's a lot harder to recreate the former. Since I'm trying to avoid what I think of as weird vegan substitutes and concentrate on whole foods, I'm limited. Cauliflower mash is the only one to fill that void so far.
There have been some great new recipes added to our repertoire, though. Thug Kitchen's roasted beet and quinoa salad is one. Last Friday, we grilled portobello mushrooms and stuffed them with artichokes and pesto. Tomorrow, I'm switching up my chicken saag recipe to make it with eggplant instead. I have high hopes for that one.
But nights of great food are interspersed with meals that are just to satisfy hunger. Simple things that don't take much effort in the kitchen at all. For someone like me who loves to cook, that's a rough one to deal with. I'm hoping that once I've discovered more variations on complex options that'll fix itself.
In the meantime, I'm trying not to take my irritability out on my family. The health benefits are already showing themselves. My skin is better. We've lost weight. It'll all be worth it.
It'll just be more enjoyable once I'm past the withdrawal.
Two weeks ago, we started on our mostly-vegan meal plan here in my household. Lots and lots of vegetables, a salad every day, virtually no animal products. It's not been impossible, but I'd be lying if I said it was easy, and not for the reasons I anticipated.
I love to plan, so that's not the hardship. It's the boredom. I get lots of flavors, but what I'm missing is texture. Creaminess. Crunchiness. Roasting vegetables can occasionally give me the latter, but it's a lot harder to recreate the former. Since I'm trying to avoid what I think of as weird vegan substitutes and concentrate on whole foods, I'm limited. Cauliflower mash is the only one to fill that void so far.
There have been some great new recipes added to our repertoire, though. Thug Kitchen's roasted beet and quinoa salad is one. Last Friday, we grilled portobello mushrooms and stuffed them with artichokes and pesto. Tomorrow, I'm switching up my chicken saag recipe to make it with eggplant instead. I have high hopes for that one.
But nights of great food are interspersed with meals that are just to satisfy hunger. Simple things that don't take much effort in the kitchen at all. For someone like me who loves to cook, that's a rough one to deal with. I'm hoping that once I've discovered more variations on complex options that'll fix itself.
In the meantime, I'm trying not to take my irritability out on my family. The health benefits are already showing themselves. My skin is better. We've lost weight. It'll all be worth it.
It'll just be more enjoyable once I'm past the withdrawal.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Embracing Our Garden
We've made food changes in our household. To our friends, they seem pretty drastic. In some ways, they are. I certainly didn't see it coming. But health issues have reared their ugly heads, and when that happens, you do what you have to do.
My household has gone vegan. Mostly.
What that means is six days a week, we don't consume animal products or anything processed. No salt, either. Our big meal is always a salad, and water consumption has gone through the roof. Right now, I just can't do it every day, so I'm reserving Sunday as a day that's more omnivorous, but plain eating is still the priority.
So far, it's not going too badly.
Breakfasts are the hardest for me. I can't eat oatmeal every day, and smoothies do absolutely zero to fill me up, so I've had to work at finding alternatives. The first thing that's worked is this antioxidant-rich breakfast bar, which I was more than a little shocked I enjoyed. It's incredibly filling, too. I need that. Since I'm at home most of the day, it's too easy to snack on something I probably shouldn't.
Planning is the key. There are certain foods I have to work into our diet on a regular basis, and I'm the kind of person who gets bored easily. I want flavor. And I want a variety of them. I've subscribed to a few food blogs that look promising, so as I try things out, I'll be sure to share.
My household has gone vegan. Mostly.
What that means is six days a week, we don't consume animal products or anything processed. No salt, either. Our big meal is always a salad, and water consumption has gone through the roof. Right now, I just can't do it every day, so I'm reserving Sunday as a day that's more omnivorous, but plain eating is still the priority.
So far, it's not going too badly.
Breakfasts are the hardest for me. I can't eat oatmeal every day, and smoothies do absolutely zero to fill me up, so I've had to work at finding alternatives. The first thing that's worked is this antioxidant-rich breakfast bar, which I was more than a little shocked I enjoyed. It's incredibly filling, too. I need that. Since I'm at home most of the day, it's too easy to snack on something I probably shouldn't.
Planning is the key. There are certain foods I have to work into our diet on a regular basis, and I'm the kind of person who gets bored easily. I want flavor. And I want a variety of them. I've subscribed to a few food blogs that look promising, so as I try things out, I'll be sure to share.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Weekend plans
What plans do you have this weekend? Whatever they are, enjoy!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Avoiding the drama
Guess what? There's been drama on the Internet this week.
No news there, though it always surprises me that people are shocked when it happens. With the speed of communication, and the added bonus of so-called anonymity luring those who might not normally say or do things, there is always drama. In comments. In tweets. In blog posts. In announcements.
For the most part, I avoid drama at all costs. Why? Because my life has enough complications in it without going and looking for more that have nothing to do with me. I'm not talking about speaking up about genuine issues, like the fiasco in Indiana with their attempts to slide discrimination into law by masking it under lies that it's exactly like other laws already on the books in other parts of the country (newsflash: it's not). It's the little things like falling for trolls in comment sections who only want to rile people up that can suck away energy that is better served in other parts of my life.
People say things online they wouldn't say in real life. They think the Internet is a safe place. I wish I could grab them by the shoulders, shake them, and say, "Oh, hell to the no." Even when someplace is labeled "safe," it's not. It's online. It's archived. Identities can be created with minimal effort.
On top of that, intention can be completely misconstrued. The written word is absorbed through the filter of the reader, not the creator. Too often, as creators who try to keep as much control over their words as possible, this is easy to forget.
Don't.
My rule of thumb is, Don't put anything online I wouldn't say to an auditorium packed with strangers. I don't gossip or bitch unless I'm willing to have what I said get back to the wrong people. Which means, I usually curb my language, or don't comment, or click away from a post that unsettles me.
The only Internet drama I want in my life is that which makes a tangible difference to me and my family. The rest is superfluous. I'm going to treat it as such.
No news there, though it always surprises me that people are shocked when it happens. With the speed of communication, and the added bonus of so-called anonymity luring those who might not normally say or do things, there is always drama. In comments. In tweets. In blog posts. In announcements.
For the most part, I avoid drama at all costs. Why? Because my life has enough complications in it without going and looking for more that have nothing to do with me. I'm not talking about speaking up about genuine issues, like the fiasco in Indiana with their attempts to slide discrimination into law by masking it under lies that it's exactly like other laws already on the books in other parts of the country (newsflash: it's not). It's the little things like falling for trolls in comment sections who only want to rile people up that can suck away energy that is better served in other parts of my life.
People say things online they wouldn't say in real life. They think the Internet is a safe place. I wish I could grab them by the shoulders, shake them, and say, "Oh, hell to the no." Even when someplace is labeled "safe," it's not. It's online. It's archived. Identities can be created with minimal effort.
On top of that, intention can be completely misconstrued. The written word is absorbed through the filter of the reader, not the creator. Too often, as creators who try to keep as much control over their words as possible, this is easy to forget.
Don't.
My rule of thumb is, Don't put anything online I wouldn't say to an auditorium packed with strangers. I don't gossip or bitch unless I'm willing to have what I said get back to the wrong people. Which means, I usually curb my language, or don't comment, or click away from a post that unsettles me.
The only Internet drama I want in my life is that which makes a tangible difference to me and my family. The rest is superfluous. I'm going to treat it as such.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Do I replace my Fitbit?
So...my Fitbit died over the weekend. After owning it for only two months.
Needless to say, I'm not impressed.
I won't be buying a new one. From the looks of it, it's not really worth it to bug customer service about getting a replacement, either. They seem to be good about that, but the short life on it seems to be endemic to the brand. I'd rather not go through a cycle of having to get a new one every couple months.
Is it worth it to look at other monitors? I don't know. Do you have one you like?
Needless to say, I'm not impressed.
I won't be buying a new one. From the looks of it, it's not really worth it to bug customer service about getting a replacement, either. They seem to be good about that, but the short life on it seems to be endemic to the brand. I'd rather not go through a cycle of having to get a new one every couple months.
Is it worth it to look at other monitors? I don't know. Do you have one you like?
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Geek Romance
Last weekend, I took my teenagers to their very first convention, a gaming con near enough to us that we could come home at the end of each day. They had a blast, which isn't surprising. We love games in this family, and though I'm more of a tabletop gal, they got to learn some new RPGs.
We fly the geek flag high in this family.
I attended a couple seminars I thought would help in my writing, but what it really made me want to do was write a geek romance. There's not enough out there.
I'm also looking for geek romance recommendations. I don't care about orientation. It could be het, bi, gay, or lesbian. I read it all. Tell me about the stories you love!
We fly the geek flag high in this family.
I attended a couple seminars I thought would help in my writing, but what it really made me want to do was write a geek romance. There's not enough out there.
I'm also looking for geek romance recommendations. I don't care about orientation. It could be het, bi, gay, or lesbian. I read it all. Tell me about the stories you love!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Keep going
Right now, however, I'm going to get coffee, ibuprofen, and put this on a sticky on the corner of my laptop so I don't forget it today.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Strength Training
Exercise and I are not friends. We never have been. I never get the endorphin rush, it exhausts me no matter how in shape I am, and I look like a boiled lobster within five minutes of starting.
None of that is an exaggeration.
However, I've had increasing issues with osteoarthritis in my hips in the past couple years. It got diagnosed four years ago, after nearly a decade of problems that I ignored, and that year, I went and lost almost sixty pounds in an effort to hold off on the pain. That worked really well until I had foot surgery two years later. It's gotten progressively worse since then (though my foot is so much better, thank goodness), which meant that since it hurt to move, the weight came back. More weight added more pressure. It's a deadly cycle.
In December, I knew I had to do something about it. Something more aggressive. No more slacking. No more excuses. I'm only in my forties, and I am far too young to just shut off a big part of my life. Instead of just trying to lose weight, however, I needed to strengthen all my muscles to support the joints better. I talked to my family, and we decided to up our membership to the gym to include all of us and turn it into more of a group effort. That way, there's always somebody in the house to support you.
We started going just before the new year. I can't do treadmills--the impact on my hips makes it hurt too much, counteracting whatever benefits I might get--but ellipticals are perfect. I added in weight machines on my lower body--extensions, abductors, adductors, etc.--while at home, I started daily squats and some basic core strengthening exercises like hip crossovers. I started very small. On the at-home exercises, I was more interested in making sure it became a habit first rather than looking for results, so I started with just five while I figured out when was the perfect time of the day for me to do them to ensure they happened. Those numbers increased as the past month progressed, as did my weights at the gym.
Frankly, I'm shocked at the results so far.
Though I've lost what I'd gained since we renewed our wedding vows in Vegas in October, I'm not obsessed with the scale. My metric for success is pain. Where before I measured a good day by not having to take any ibuprofen just to suffer through, it's different now. I have more good days than bad, and I've only had to take painkillers once (on Sunday, in fact, because Saturday night I couldn't get to the elliptical I wanted and spent time on a treadmill, big mistake, and since I knew I would be walking around San Francisco for hours, ibuprofen was on the menu). This is such a win for me, it's not even funny. I knew exercising would help osteoarthritis--just being on the elliptical earned me a few hours of no pain before--but I didn't anticipate such swift results when I added strength training. I have whole days where I don't even feel a twinge. Know why that's such a big deal?
That hasn't happened to me in well over fifteen months. Even on a good day, there would be twinges, or I'd step slightly differently and my leg would go out from under me.
Needless to say, I'm not giving this up. It's giving me my life back. I still hate exercise, but damn if I don't love the results.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
The Year Ahead
I have to say, I'm excited about 2015. It's the little things, like:
- Knowing I won't be signing at RT this year so I can spend Saturday morning being a fangirl for all those authors I adore. When I registered for the convention, I got put on the waitlist which seems like a blessing in disguise, frankly. No more sneaking away for a couple minutes at a time.
- Getting a weekend with my sisters in August for us to just hang out. We live in different time zones/states - North Carolina, Oklahoma, and California - and the last time we were all together was five years ago.
- My daughter starts driver's training. This doesn't fill me with dread like it would for most parents. Her schedule is insane. I'm counting down the days until she can shoulder some of the transportation responsibilities.
- Shows/people I get to see. Just in the next four months alone, I have tickets for Tim Minchin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury, and Book of Mormon. And it's very likely Newsies will be thrown into that mix as well.
What are you looking forward to this year?
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Best Christmas gift ever
Bit by bit, I'm getting back into my routine. My daughter returned to school yesterday, my son goes today, and I am back to writing. I took the holidays off for the most part, so I could spend time with my family. That means, of course, that now, I'm rushing to get caught up.
I don't regret it for a second. It was quiet and cozy, and with my daughter a freshman in high school now, I'm relishing these holidays for as long as I can. Plus, I got a new toy for Christmas! I love to cook, and my husband surprised me by getting me a sous vide circulator. Don't know what it is? Well, sous vide cooking is about sealing food in vacuum bags and cooking it in a temperature-controlled water bath. It cooks more slowly and evenly, only up to the desired temperature, so in theory it's impossible for food to get overcooked. It's been used in the restaurant industry for ages, and we'd been dying to try it.
And now we have! Its most practical non-professional application is for meat, so since we were having beef tenderloin for Christmas dinner, it was agreed we would try it out on that. It was a risk, sure, but oh, so worth it. Instead of roasting, we cut the meat into 1" slices, sealed them in bags, and put it in the bath with the circulator for an hour. When I took them out, I gave them a quick sear on the stovetop with just salt and pepper.
Best. Beef. Ever. Seriously. We were able to cut them with butter knives, and for this gal who likes her beef on the rare side and usually gets screwed over with pieces more medium, it was perfect. We've tried it with ribs, which turned out very tender as well, and this week, I'm trying bratwurst.
What was your favorite Christmas gift this year? Was Santa generous?
I don't regret it for a second. It was quiet and cozy, and with my daughter a freshman in high school now, I'm relishing these holidays for as long as I can. Plus, I got a new toy for Christmas! I love to cook, and my husband surprised me by getting me a sous vide circulator. Don't know what it is? Well, sous vide cooking is about sealing food in vacuum bags and cooking it in a temperature-controlled water bath. It cooks more slowly and evenly, only up to the desired temperature, so in theory it's impossible for food to get overcooked. It's been used in the restaurant industry for ages, and we'd been dying to try it.
And now we have! Its most practical non-professional application is for meat, so since we were having beef tenderloin for Christmas dinner, it was agreed we would try it out on that. It was a risk, sure, but oh, so worth it. Instead of roasting, we cut the meat into 1" slices, sealed them in bags, and put it in the bath with the circulator for an hour. When I took them out, I gave them a quick sear on the stovetop with just salt and pepper.
Best. Beef. Ever. Seriously. We were able to cut them with butter knives, and for this gal who likes her beef on the rare side and usually gets screwed over with pieces more medium, it was perfect. We've tried it with ribs, which turned out very tender as well, and this week, I'm trying bratwurst.
What was your favorite Christmas gift this year? Was Santa generous?
Monday, December 15, 2014
Officially teenagers
My son turned thirteen yesterday. I am officially the mother of two teenagers. As proud as I am of the people they're growing into, it makes me sad to lose my babies. And feel a wee bit old, if I'm being completely honest.
It's one reason why I always love this time of year. Growing up, Christmas was more than presents. It was about family. It was the one time of the year I was guaranteed to see all my cousins, aunts and uncles, in one place for more than a couple hours. It's about sitting down and playing games, laughing and chatting with each other, curling up under blankets because my uncle always turned the heat down at night, even getting snow down the back of my neck when the boys would be overzealous with snowball fights.
We don't really get a lot of that here in California so I have to make the most of what I have. I try to put work on the back burner (which is funny this year because I have a story coming out in this weekend's Amber Allure pax release day and my author day is on Christmas) and spend as much time with them as possible.
My son's birthday is a reminder not to waste that time. He won't be a child forever. In a few years, he'll be off to college, and I'll be missing yelling for him three times because he's wearing headphones while he plays videogames.
But in my heart, he'll always be my baby.
It's one reason why I always love this time of year. Growing up, Christmas was more than presents. It was about family. It was the one time of the year I was guaranteed to see all my cousins, aunts and uncles, in one place for more than a couple hours. It's about sitting down and playing games, laughing and chatting with each other, curling up under blankets because my uncle always turned the heat down at night, even getting snow down the back of my neck when the boys would be overzealous with snowball fights.
We don't really get a lot of that here in California so I have to make the most of what I have. I try to put work on the back burner (which is funny this year because I have a story coming out in this weekend's Amber Allure pax release day and my author day is on Christmas) and spend as much time with them as possible.
My son's birthday is a reminder not to waste that time. He won't be a child forever. In a few years, he'll be off to college, and I'll be missing yelling for him three times because he's wearing headphones while he plays videogames.
But in my heart, he'll always be my baby.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
More about music
Since I talked about all the musicals I have on CD just a couple days ago, I thought I'd talk about some of my favorite non-musical CDs today. I don't tend to play music in the house. I turn the TV on for noise. These days, most of my music listening happens in the car, and I rotate CDs out consistently. I'm kind of old-fashioned in that I just don't download songs. I don't listen to music on portable devices, so it seems like a waste. Plus, some of my favorite songs of all time were never released as singles. If I hadn't purchased the whole album, I never would've discovered them.
So while I have some current favorites - A Great Big World, John Newman, Lorde - they haven't been around nearly long enough to entrench themselves as all-time favorites. So when I pick my top three, they're all older.
1. Nothing Like the Sun by Sting: I LOVE Sting. I have loved Sting since I was in junior high and I was a huge Police fan. "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was the second album I bought with my own money when I was in high school. It's not on this list because his second album was just so much better. The pop songs are still there - "Englishman in New York" is impossible not to bop along to - but then there's sheer beauty like his cover of "Little Wing" and the moody "Sister Moon." I've seen him live more than any other artist, and he never fails to move me.
2. Bigger, Better, Faster, More! by 4 Non Blondes: I'm going to bet a lot of people have never heard of 4 Non Blondes unless they're a fan of Linda Perry. They were a girl rock band in the early 90s and only did a single album before Perry left the group. But I have probably listened to that album more than any other non-musical album I own. There's a bluesy, rock sound to most of their songs that just crawls under your skin. Add in Perry's raw voice, and oh god, it's a drug. The songs are poetry with an edge. "What's Up" was the only song to hit the charts, and it's great, don't get me wrong, but "Dear Mr. President" is some powerful stuff, and "Spaceman" is amazing. I followed Perry's career closely after that, and for those who don't think they know her, she's achieved most of her fame songwriting. She did Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" for instance. And in recent years, she married Sara Gilbert. And yet, I will always remember her for this gorgeous album.
3. The Cost by The Frames: I discovered The Frames after the movie Once, which made me fall in love with Glen Hansard. I own a ton of his music because of that movie, whether it's his band from before the movie or The Swell Season, which was his duo with Marketa Irglova. I got to see him and Marketa perform at a club in Salt Lake City a few years ago, and it was absolutely amazing. But this Frames album is probably my favorite of his outside of the Once soundtrack. I'm cheating slightly because it has "Falling Slowly" on it, which is probably in my top 10 songs of all time, but it has so much more. This one is more stripped down than a lot of their other work, which might be one reason why I love it so much. Glen and his guitar seem to be enough for me most of the time. His tone is both haunting and uplifting, displaying such vulnerability at times that it makes me ache. This whole album is like a quiet storm that just sneaks up on you. Spellbinding.
I think if I have a common theme on my music tastes...it's storytelling. I fall in love with songs that tell stories. In hindsight, that's not very surprising, now is it?
So while I have some current favorites - A Great Big World, John Newman, Lorde - they haven't been around nearly long enough to entrench themselves as all-time favorites. So when I pick my top three, they're all older.
1. Nothing Like the Sun by Sting: I LOVE Sting. I have loved Sting since I was in junior high and I was a huge Police fan. "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was the second album I bought with my own money when I was in high school. It's not on this list because his second album was just so much better. The pop songs are still there - "Englishman in New York" is impossible not to bop along to - but then there's sheer beauty like his cover of "Little Wing" and the moody "Sister Moon." I've seen him live more than any other artist, and he never fails to move me.
2. Bigger, Better, Faster, More! by 4 Non Blondes: I'm going to bet a lot of people have never heard of 4 Non Blondes unless they're a fan of Linda Perry. They were a girl rock band in the early 90s and only did a single album before Perry left the group. But I have probably listened to that album more than any other non-musical album I own. There's a bluesy, rock sound to most of their songs that just crawls under your skin. Add in Perry's raw voice, and oh god, it's a drug. The songs are poetry with an edge. "What's Up" was the only song to hit the charts, and it's great, don't get me wrong, but "Dear Mr. President" is some powerful stuff, and "Spaceman" is amazing. I followed Perry's career closely after that, and for those who don't think they know her, she's achieved most of her fame songwriting. She did Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" for instance. And in recent years, she married Sara Gilbert. And yet, I will always remember her for this gorgeous album.
3. The Cost by The Frames: I discovered The Frames after the movie Once, which made me fall in love with Glen Hansard. I own a ton of his music because of that movie, whether it's his band from before the movie or The Swell Season, which was his duo with Marketa Irglova. I got to see him and Marketa perform at a club in Salt Lake City a few years ago, and it was absolutely amazing. But this Frames album is probably my favorite of his outside of the Once soundtrack. I'm cheating slightly because it has "Falling Slowly" on it, which is probably in my top 10 songs of all time, but it has so much more. This one is more stripped down than a lot of their other work, which might be one reason why I love it so much. Glen and his guitar seem to be enough for me most of the time. His tone is both haunting and uplifting, displaying such vulnerability at times that it makes me ache. This whole album is like a quiet storm that just sneaks up on you. Spellbinding.
I think if I have a common theme on my music tastes...it's storytelling. I fall in love with songs that tell stories. In hindsight, that's not very surprising, now is it?
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Christmas and musicals
This past weekend, we got our Christmas decorations up, which generated a lot of talk about what our holiday is going to entail this year. See, my family is scattered throughout the US. Getting together at holidays doesn't happen. My husband's family is in the UK. His parents came to spend Christmas with us every year after we moved to CA in 2004, but when my mother-in-law passed away in 2012, things changed a bit. This year, my father-in-law is staying home, which means it's just the four of us to celebrate the day. For the first time ever, we're considering going to see a movie on Christmas Day. What could compel us to do that? Into the Woods.
It's not just me. My kids know the music back to front. I've taken them to see it live. I'm proud of the fact that I've passed along my love of musical theater to them.
Of course, it helps that I have a ton of soundtracks, some from more than one production. The one nearest to my heart is Les Miserables. It was the very first professional musical I saw live. It was spring break of 1988. I was a freshman in college, and I spent ten days in New York City. In that time period, I saw John Malkovich and Joan Allen in Burn This, Kiri Te Kenawa in Cosi Fan Tutte at the Met, and Les Miserables on Broadway. All three were once in a lifetime experiences, but it was Les Miz that tore me apart. We had cheap student seats. For less than $20, we had a seat in the last two rows in the very top and back of the theater, but from that vantage, I got to see the full effect of the choreography. The voices carried all the way to us without fail, and as someone who didn't know the story (I read the book afterward), it was heart wrenching. What young girl hasn't felt like Eponine at some point in her lives? I was ready to join in the revolution myself. It was just the first time for me. I've seen it in four major American cities, in London, and it is the one show I own in the most incarnations. I have the original London cast, the original Broadway cast, the complete symphonic, and the 10th anniversary all on CD. I also own the 25th anniversary on DVD. So...yeah. That one's my favorite.
There is no way I can list all the individual shows I own. I probably own most of Stephen Sondheim's work. As much as I love Les Miz, the original Broadway cast performing the first act of Sunday in the Park of George might be as close to perfect theater as I have ever seen/heard. I mean, come on. Mandy Patinkin in one of his greatest roles. A heartbreaking Bernadette Peters. An incredible supporting cast that includes Charles Kimbrough, Dana Ivey, Brent Spiner, and Robert Westenberg. Its commentary on the creative process as well as how brilliantly it mirrored pointillism in the score is masterful to say the least.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Into the Woods. I ended up being disappointed by the screen adaptation of Les Miz, so I was holding out on getting excited. Then the trailers started popping up, and it looks and sounds great.
I just have to work out my issue with spending Christmas afternoon sitting in a theater.
It's not just me. My kids know the music back to front. I've taken them to see it live. I'm proud of the fact that I've passed along my love of musical theater to them.
Of course, it helps that I have a ton of soundtracks, some from more than one production. The one nearest to my heart is Les Miserables. It was the very first professional musical I saw live. It was spring break of 1988. I was a freshman in college, and I spent ten days in New York City. In that time period, I saw John Malkovich and Joan Allen in Burn This, Kiri Te Kenawa in Cosi Fan Tutte at the Met, and Les Miserables on Broadway. All three were once in a lifetime experiences, but it was Les Miz that tore me apart. We had cheap student seats. For less than $20, we had a seat in the last two rows in the very top and back of the theater, but from that vantage, I got to see the full effect of the choreography. The voices carried all the way to us without fail, and as someone who didn't know the story (I read the book afterward), it was heart wrenching. What young girl hasn't felt like Eponine at some point in her lives? I was ready to join in the revolution myself. It was just the first time for me. I've seen it in four major American cities, in London, and it is the one show I own in the most incarnations. I have the original London cast, the original Broadway cast, the complete symphonic, and the 10th anniversary all on CD. I also own the 25th anniversary on DVD. So...yeah. That one's my favorite.
There is no way I can list all the individual shows I own. I probably own most of Stephen Sondheim's work. As much as I love Les Miz, the original Broadway cast performing the first act of Sunday in the Park of George might be as close to perfect theater as I have ever seen/heard. I mean, come on. Mandy Patinkin in one of his greatest roles. A heartbreaking Bernadette Peters. An incredible supporting cast that includes Charles Kimbrough, Dana Ivey, Brent Spiner, and Robert Westenberg. Its commentary on the creative process as well as how brilliantly it mirrored pointillism in the score is masterful to say the least.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Into the Woods. I ended up being disappointed by the screen adaptation of Les Miz, so I was holding out on getting excited. Then the trailers started popping up, and it looks and sounds great.
I just have to work out my issue with spending Christmas afternoon sitting in a theater.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Remember this week
Some weeks, you just want to turn your back on and forget. I won't be able to do it with this week, if only because part of what I wish I could block from memory were headlines that both sadden and infuriate me - the news about Eric Garner and the religious freedom act in Michigan making it out of the House and on its way to the State Senate. The only way to make change happen so that everyone is treated equally in a public place is to remember the steps that took us backward and fight against them.
I won't argue about it here. I'll just say that legalizing openly discriminatory acts - which if you refuse public service to someone absolutely is - is narrow-minded, and nobody will ever be able to convince me otherwise. Perhaps I assume the worst in people in believing legislation like this would totally be abused, or that those same people who demand to treat people with hate would show outrage if the same behavior came from an opposing religious belief, but I've seen both firsthand. It only takes one or two extremists to sully an entire group.
So I won't forget about this week. I'll just do my best to teach my children to treat everyone with the same respect and grace. Intolerance is a learned behavior.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
The science in your fiction
Last night, I was reading up on NASA's upcoming spacecraft launch for the Orion, and while the article was interesting, what was more intriguing were the comments. It devolved into how science fiction really screwed up the space program because of layman expectations.
Now, I'll be the first to admit science is not one of my favorite subjects. I did well in it in school, but it's not something I pursued in my own free time. But I live in a house of scientists. My husband designs computer software and worked for Marconi before coming to the US in 1997. My fourteen-year-old daughter has been planning in going into some form of robotics since she was nine. My twelve-year-son has been all about how things work since he could put blocks together. And don't get me started on how this household appreciates what Neil deGrasse Tyson has done to try and inspire people with science. These are people who take their science very seriously. They are all invested in seeing organizations like NASA thrive, and yet, few in my regular circle were even aware that the Orion project was still alive. One friend even thought NASA had been closed down. That's how bad the current PR for them really is.
But is there some merit to the argument that science fiction has distorted what we expect in our space exploration? A little bit, yeah. There are legitimate problems that get overlooked when writing about space flight. It's worked the other way, of course. Gene Roddenberry and the world of Star Trek is an excellent example. Where do we draw the line in the sand? How creative can we actually be when we're telling our stories? Supposedly, genre fiction is all about the escape. Mundane details need not apply.
Or should they? If you're reading sci-fi romance, it has to be for a legitimate reason. Isn't science a part of that? Realism gives genre the verisimilitude it needs. Where's the balance?
Now, I'll be the first to admit science is not one of my favorite subjects. I did well in it in school, but it's not something I pursued in my own free time. But I live in a house of scientists. My husband designs computer software and worked for Marconi before coming to the US in 1997. My fourteen-year-old daughter has been planning in going into some form of robotics since she was nine. My twelve-year-son has been all about how things work since he could put blocks together. And don't get me started on how this household appreciates what Neil deGrasse Tyson has done to try and inspire people with science. These are people who take their science very seriously. They are all invested in seeing organizations like NASA thrive, and yet, few in my regular circle were even aware that the Orion project was still alive. One friend even thought NASA had been closed down. That's how bad the current PR for them really is.
But is there some merit to the argument that science fiction has distorted what we expect in our space exploration? A little bit, yeah. There are legitimate problems that get overlooked when writing about space flight. It's worked the other way, of course. Gene Roddenberry and the world of Star Trek is an excellent example. Where do we draw the line in the sand? How creative can we actually be when we're telling our stories? Supposedly, genre fiction is all about the escape. Mundane details need not apply.
Or should they? If you're reading sci-fi romance, it has to be for a legitimate reason. Isn't science a part of that? Realism gives genre the verisimilitude it needs. Where's the balance?
Monday, December 1, 2014
A brand new month
I am emerging from my Thanksgiving cave, though not without stress. Too much stuff to do that's not holiday related, but at least I have time to myself again to tackle it all and a house that's been recovered from all our company.
Thanksgiving itself went great. We had some real winners when it came to recipes this year. I made a slow cooker pumpkin cake for Wednesday night that turned out so good, and the pumpkin pecan cinnamon rolls I made for Thursday breakfast were divine with a couple tweaks (I do not understand this need to melt the butter that so many more modern cinnamon roll recipes use. The butter melts in the oven anyway, and when it's melted beforehand, it makes a real mess. Plus, the cream cheese icing on this was way too sweet so I cut back on the sugar and added more cream cheese to get it to our preferences.) One of our guests made a Bananas Foster bread pudding that I died over. I basically ignored all other desserts just to have that, lol.
But now it's back to the grind. I've got a new long novella coming out this month, a new contract on its way, and more stories to tell. Lots to accomplish before the next holiday is upon us!
Thanksgiving itself went great. We had some real winners when it came to recipes this year. I made a slow cooker pumpkin cake for Wednesday night that turned out so good, and the pumpkin pecan cinnamon rolls I made for Thursday breakfast were divine with a couple tweaks (I do not understand this need to melt the butter that so many more modern cinnamon roll recipes use. The butter melts in the oven anyway, and when it's melted beforehand, it makes a real mess. Plus, the cream cheese icing on this was way too sweet so I cut back on the sugar and added more cream cheese to get it to our preferences.) One of our guests made a Bananas Foster bread pudding that I died over. I basically ignored all other desserts just to have that, lol.
But now it's back to the grind. I've got a new long novella coming out this month, a new contract on its way, and more stories to tell. Lots to accomplish before the next holiday is upon us!
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
The Past into the Future
The very first book I wrote, a 400-page western romance about a young girl who'd been rescued by William Bonney, was written on a machine that looked like this:
It was 1981. I was 12 years old, there wasn't an Internet for me to research Billy the Kid so most of what I picked up was basic information and I made up the rest, and the typewriter was a heavy, metal beast that my great-grandmother had used in college in the 1910s. The red and black ribbon was ancient and a little ragged, and the letter p tended to cut through the paper, but I loved it with all my heart. I got really good on it. By the time I took typing my freshman year of high school, I was typing 75 words a minute. I was faster than the teacher. That might've been one of my easiest As ever.
When computers came along, however, I was thrilled. No more ink on my fingers! No more white-out! No more wasted paper because I'd spent half a day writing a page that would now get cut! I can't say my productivity actually went up, but my efficiency sure did.
In the past fifteen years, however, I've started longing for a typewriter again. I love the way they look, and I love the way the keys feel under my fingertips. I'm so in love that I have been known to get a little shiver when I hear a bunch of them going all at once. It's my own little Mad Men porn.
You know what's funny? They're making a comeback. Some people never left them behind, but with all the security hacks in recent years, they're seen as unhackable. That's not actually true, but it's a matter of perspective. With digital publishing, it's not quite as viable as a way of streamlining work, but you know what? I'd get one. In a heartbeat. Maybe not this model, and maybe not for everything I produced, but I'd do it.
I still have that first novel, by the way. It's in a folder I've taped together twice over the years, tucked into the bottom of a box of keepsakes I can't bring myself to get rid of. It'll be one of those items my kids pull out after I die and wonder why I kept it. Then maybe they'll read it. Well, my daughter might. My son would reach the first kiss and walk out of the room. And I hope it makes her smile.
When computers came along, however, I was thrilled. No more ink on my fingers! No more white-out! No more wasted paper because I'd spent half a day writing a page that would now get cut! I can't say my productivity actually went up, but my efficiency sure did.
In the past fifteen years, however, I've started longing for a typewriter again. I love the way they look, and I love the way the keys feel under my fingertips. I'm so in love that I have been known to get a little shiver when I hear a bunch of them going all at once. It's my own little Mad Men porn.
You know what's funny? They're making a comeback. Some people never left them behind, but with all the security hacks in recent years, they're seen as unhackable. That's not actually true, but it's a matter of perspective. With digital publishing, it's not quite as viable as a way of streamlining work, but you know what? I'd get one. In a heartbeat. Maybe not this model, and maybe not for everything I produced, but I'd do it.
I still have that first novel, by the way. It's in a folder I've taped together twice over the years, tucked into the bottom of a box of keepsakes I can't bring myself to get rid of. It'll be one of those items my kids pull out after I die and wonder why I kept it. Then maybe they'll read it. Well, my daughter might. My son would reach the first kiss and walk out of the room. And I hope it makes her smile.
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