What’s your favorite genre? I’m partial to young adult books, but I’ll read just about anything. One of my favorite authors is Ann Rinaldi. She writes young adult historical fiction novels and got me hooked on historical fiction pretty early on. Most of the HF I buy has to do with Shakespeare or early modern England, but what else would you expect from someone with a master’s in Shakespeare? Loren DeShon contacted Hazard Editing few weeks ago looking for someone to critique his HF novel, Redemption on the River, and I was pleased to accept the assignment.
Redemption on the River takes place in 1848 on the Missouri river. The story follows roughly eight months in the life of a young man named Silas as he travels up and down the river. Have you ever noticed that the worst times of your life are the most dramatic? The most interesting stories usually come out situations that cause deep pain. That’s certainly true for Silas. His life prior to this book was spent on the family farm, moving through life rather uneventfully, getting by and following the normal course for a man in his town. Then, after a freak accident, he knows it’s time to leave the farm and escape the memories haunting him there.
The problem with that idea, as I’m sure you know, is that memories never stay where you put them. Silas gets on a riverboat, makes some friends, and learns about splurging in the “big city.” His friends have his back as he learns to fight and uses those skills to save his life. He meets a family with a beautiful daughter that takes his breath away, usually when she’s berating him. Every time he thinks he has a bead on the people around him, he finds out he’s wrong. So much happens to Silas that I’ve barely scratched the surface summarizing the plot of Redemption on the River, but I don’t want to give away too much. What you really need to know about this book is that it’s good.
One of the things that impressed me the most was the obvious research DeShon put into his story. Silas learns to gamble on the riverboats, so the reader learns to gamble to. I may know the basic rules of poker, but I surely don’t know what playing poker was like on a riverboat in 1848. I don’t know how DeShon found the sources for his research, but he covered everything from how to play to how to cheat. He wove in “suckers” and slang, bringing the gambling rooms to life in my mind. I could smell the smoke and the fear of the slaves brought up from the hold as collateral for their master’s bets. He wrote in dialects so that I could hear the difference between the rich Southern gentlemen and the polished Brit, the slave and the mountain man. He even included real historical figures and challenged me to find them. I’ll admit that I failed at finding most of them, but maybe you’ll have better luck.
Unlike most books, Redemption on the River doesn’t have a cheap ending. There’s no “happily ever after” or tying up of loose ends. Yes, some of the loose ends get tied up, but, like in real life, the most important ones are left hanging. All you get to know is that Silas makes a choice and takes the first step to follow it. I love epilogues, but I didn’t miss it in this book. I liked knowing that his story was longer than the last page of the book.
Redemption on the River hasn’t been published yet, but I look forward to seeing it for sale. When it is, go buy it. Even if you’re not crazy about historical fiction, Silas’ story is entertaining, full of danger, love, questions of morality, and gambling. The only thing missing is a Fire Swamp full of Rodents Of Unusual Size.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Renegade by J.C. Fiske
One of the best things about my editing job is that I get to read books that I wouldn’t normally buy. Renegade by J.C. Fiske is a great example of that. I am definitely not the target audience for Renegade and I probably wouldn’t have noticed it on an e-book shelf, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it. Renegade revolves around a community of warriors called Renegades with a focus on a young man named Gisbo. Gisbo was raised in another community and had no idea he was destined to be a Renegade. When he leaves his childhood home and becomes a Renegade, he finds the friends and support he never had before as he learns how to fight and think.
Renegade is a YA novel and I suspect one has to have a Y chromosome to really appreciate it, but us ladies can still find good things in it. For example, the author clearly has a great respect for women. The Renegades include women in their ranks, unlike another group of warriors called Strifes. Gisbo’s mentor, Falcon, tells Gisbo that the Strifes are missing out because women, while not as strong as men, bring their own strengths to battle and provide balance to male strengths. Renegades form their own relationships and it’s entertaining to read about Gisbo’s first romantic encounters with the opposite sex. Poor Gisbo has no idea how to deal with the games 14 year old girls play, but it was funny to watch him try. I also enjoyed seeing five Renegades clean an apartment to avoid the wrath of one woman. Yes, we women have power. Grr.
As a person who believes in spirit animals, I loved how Fiske worked animals into the book. Every Renegade warrior has a Boon, an animal that is a physical representation of their inner self. Of course, as I read the book, I thought about what my Boon would be. I would be disappointed if my Boon was anything other than a bat. You can imagine my squeals of excitement when a blind Renegade later in the book reveals his Boon is a bat (although bats aren’t blind.) Gisbo’s Boon is a beautiful white wolf named Fao and she kicks some butt from the first page we meet her.
Renegade reminds me a lot of a YA warrior version on Atlas Shrugged. If you know me at all or have read my profile, then you can probably guess that I just gave Mr. Fiske a huge compliment. If you are like me and have read and loved Atlas Shrugged, I cannot imagine that you wouldn’t like Renegade. You’ll probably want to buy Renegade for every young man in your family. The community that the Renegades live in is a valley in the mountains protected from the outside world by an illusion screen. Sound familiar? What’s even crazier about that is that Fiske hasn’t read Atlas Shrugged yet. Don’t worry, I’m still working on getting him to read it. One of the other similarities is that Renegade gets a bit preachy sometimes (no 30+ page speeches, though). I agreed with just about everything Fiske preaches, so I enjoyed those speeches. If you don’t agree with him, then you probably won’t enjoy the philosophy Renegade espouses.
Renegade is officially for sale and available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FG1JRC/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=jcfi05-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005FG1JRC
Renegade is a YA novel and I suspect one has to have a Y chromosome to really appreciate it, but us ladies can still find good things in it. For example, the author clearly has a great respect for women. The Renegades include women in their ranks, unlike another group of warriors called Strifes. Gisbo’s mentor, Falcon, tells Gisbo that the Strifes are missing out because women, while not as strong as men, bring their own strengths to battle and provide balance to male strengths. Renegades form their own relationships and it’s entertaining to read about Gisbo’s first romantic encounters with the opposite sex. Poor Gisbo has no idea how to deal with the games 14 year old girls play, but it was funny to watch him try. I also enjoyed seeing five Renegades clean an apartment to avoid the wrath of one woman. Yes, we women have power. Grr.
As a person who believes in spirit animals, I loved how Fiske worked animals into the book. Every Renegade warrior has a Boon, an animal that is a physical representation of their inner self. Of course, as I read the book, I thought about what my Boon would be. I would be disappointed if my Boon was anything other than a bat. You can imagine my squeals of excitement when a blind Renegade later in the book reveals his Boon is a bat (although bats aren’t blind.) Gisbo’s Boon is a beautiful white wolf named Fao and she kicks some butt from the first page we meet her.
Renegade reminds me a lot of a YA warrior version on Atlas Shrugged. If you know me at all or have read my profile, then you can probably guess that I just gave Mr. Fiske a huge compliment. If you are like me and have read and loved Atlas Shrugged, I cannot imagine that you wouldn’t like Renegade. You’ll probably want to buy Renegade for every young man in your family. The community that the Renegades live in is a valley in the mountains protected from the outside world by an illusion screen. Sound familiar? What’s even crazier about that is that Fiske hasn’t read Atlas Shrugged yet. Don’t worry, I’m still working on getting him to read it. One of the other similarities is that Renegade gets a bit preachy sometimes (no 30+ page speeches, though). I agreed with just about everything Fiske preaches, so I enjoyed those speeches. If you don’t agree with him, then you probably won’t enjoy the philosophy Renegade espouses.
Renegade is officially for sale and available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FG1JRC/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=jcfi05-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005FG1JRC
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Shauna Granger
Do you ever wonder how people get started in their jobs? I don't flatter myself enough to believe that a great following of people are drooling over my "How I Got Started Editing" story, but some may wonder, so I'll share.
Once upon a time, my favorite cousin got married to my favorite cousin-in-law. At their wedding, I met my new CIL's best friend. Her name is Shauna and she's a writer. A month or so after the wedding, Shauna remembered that I'm a writer wannabe and she offered to trade books for editing.
And then my world changed.
I loved editing her book. She was fun to work with, liberal with her praise, and actually thought I was good at editing. One would hope that, after years of higher education, I would have decent grammar skills, but I didn't have a ton of confidence in my editing ability. I just read a lot and edited based on what I've learned from reading. Nothing made me feel better than finding an inconsistency or pointing out where she needed more or less information and getting her to say, "Gah, why didn't I see that?!" One day I asked her if people actually get paid for this. She sent me a link to an editing agency and I shot them an email. Two days later, I was an official freelance editor!
Shauna has written a series of YA fantasy books and I have had the pleasure of working on all of them. Earth is available for sale on kindle and amazon now and I loved reading it. Her characters are Elementals, meaning they can control an element. In Earth, someone new to town to performing blood magic and trying to unleash hell. Shayna, Jodi, and Steven, along with some help from a local witch, are the ones left trying to stop a menace the police can't catch. Perhaps that isn't fair, but what can you do when you're given special powers? Seriously though, her book is better than my summarizing skills. You can follow her blog here: http://shaunasspot.blogspot.com/
On top of being a kick ass author and a pleasure to work with, Shauna has become my friend. It never ceases to amaze me how relationships can be formed over the internet. I read articles all the time about how people don't connect anymore because they're too busy sitting in front of computers or they go on tirades online, forgetting that real people with real emotions read those tirades. These articles always forget to mention the beautiful people putting their hearts on their online sleeves and connecting to people across the country.
I guess the moral to Shauna's story (or her story thus far) is to reach out and connect with someone. I'm not saying my life would be a black hole of suck if Shauna hadn't reached out to me, but it wouldn't be the bright, sparkly rainbow of joy it is now without her. The best part about it is that she's grateful for me too! So go email that person you want to talk to, go apply for that job you want, go try that hobby that you've always thought looked cool.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Once upon a time, my favorite cousin got married to my favorite cousin-in-law. At their wedding, I met my new CIL's best friend. Her name is Shauna and she's a writer. A month or so after the wedding, Shauna remembered that I'm a writer wannabe and she offered to trade books for editing.
And then my world changed.
I loved editing her book. She was fun to work with, liberal with her praise, and actually thought I was good at editing. One would hope that, after years of higher education, I would have decent grammar skills, but I didn't have a ton of confidence in my editing ability. I just read a lot and edited based on what I've learned from reading. Nothing made me feel better than finding an inconsistency or pointing out where she needed more or less information and getting her to say, "Gah, why didn't I see that?!" One day I asked her if people actually get paid for this. She sent me a link to an editing agency and I shot them an email. Two days later, I was an official freelance editor!
Shauna has written a series of YA fantasy books and I have had the pleasure of working on all of them. Earth is available for sale on kindle and amazon now and I loved reading it. Her characters are Elementals, meaning they can control an element. In Earth, someone new to town to performing blood magic and trying to unleash hell. Shayna, Jodi, and Steven, along with some help from a local witch, are the ones left trying to stop a menace the police can't catch. Perhaps that isn't fair, but what can you do when you're given special powers? Seriously though, her book is better than my summarizing skills. You can follow her blog here: http://shaunasspot.blogspot.com/
On top of being a kick ass author and a pleasure to work with, Shauna has become my friend. It never ceases to amaze me how relationships can be formed over the internet. I read articles all the time about how people don't connect anymore because they're too busy sitting in front of computers or they go on tirades online, forgetting that real people with real emotions read those tirades. These articles always forget to mention the beautiful people putting their hearts on their online sleeves and connecting to people across the country.
I guess the moral to Shauna's story (or her story thus far) is to reach out and connect with someone. I'm not saying my life would be a black hole of suck if Shauna hadn't reached out to me, but it wouldn't be the bright, sparkly rainbow of joy it is now without her. The best part about it is that she's grateful for me too! So go email that person you want to talk to, go apply for that job you want, go try that hobby that you've always thought looked cool.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Being Human by Patricia Lynne
One of the books I had the privilege of proofreading recently is called Being Human by Patricia Lynne. This is her first book and I’ve already asked her to keep me informed about anything else she puts out, even if I don’t edit it. The book revolves around the after life of a vampire named… well, I probably shouldn’t tell you his name. In his world, to know one’s name means that you have power over them. In fact, there’s a young woman he tells his name to and then corners her friends, demanding they tell him her name so that he can counter her power over him. This vampire is turned at 15 years old and the book follows him for roughly 20 years after that event. One of the things I loved the most about Being Human is that the book covers the 20 years in five segments with time gaps in between. Lynne didn’t get cornered into the idea that she had to explain every moment of his life and let herself tell his story through the major events.
I love vampire books. Given the choice between a modern vampire novel and a classic novel, I’d pick the vampire book. Actually, I’d probably grab both and run away before you tried to take one away, but let’s run with the original decision. Like most readers, I hear vampire novel and think, “Vampire meets human girl, falls in love, and spends his after life trying to protect her from everything that tries to keep them apart.” Being Human has a bit of that kind of story in it (for those of you who can’t stand the idea of missing your vamp/human love story), but that isn’t even close to the majority of the story. One of my biggest complaints about standard vampire stories is that I want to know, “Why this girl?” Usually the answer is something like, “She smells good. She’s unusual.” Being Human has a better answer. You’ll have to read the book to get that answer, but trust me, it’s good. It’s understandable. And it’s really, really human.
The bigger love story in Being Human is the love story between the vampire and his human twin brother. I’m not a twin, so I don’t know anything about the bond between twins, but I’ve met enough twins to believe in it. This bond extends beyond death for these brothers and ties the vampire to humanity in a way that is unique among vampires. Most of the vampires in this book kill their families, no matter how close they were to them in life. After being turned, the only thing vampires care about is survival. That means that the sleeping human in the other room is fair game and they don’t feel any guilt about feeding from their gene pool.
In Being Human, vampires don’t retain memories of their human lives. They know how to walk and talk and they have instincts that teach them to hunt humans, avoid the sun and Vampire Forces, and survive, but they don’t understand why humans do the things they do. Well, that’s not entirely true. The vampire in this book understands why humans walk for exercise, because it keeps them healthy and helps them survive, but not why they walk for pleasure. One of my favorite scenes in this book is when the vampire is taught how to brush his teeth. Do you ever think brushing your teeth is weird? I don’t. Lynne wrote the scene in a way that kept me in the book, but made me step back and think, “Wow, that is a strange practice. Spreading goo over your teeth to make them smell better.” Almost as strange as people going to school dances where no one dances.
Being Human is almost ready for publishing and I highly recommend you buy it as soon as it is. You can follow Lynne’s blog here: http://plbjourney.blogspot.com/
I love vampire books. Given the choice between a modern vampire novel and a classic novel, I’d pick the vampire book. Actually, I’d probably grab both and run away before you tried to take one away, but let’s run with the original decision. Like most readers, I hear vampire novel and think, “Vampire meets human girl, falls in love, and spends his after life trying to protect her from everything that tries to keep them apart.” Being Human has a bit of that kind of story in it (for those of you who can’t stand the idea of missing your vamp/human love story), but that isn’t even close to the majority of the story. One of my biggest complaints about standard vampire stories is that I want to know, “Why this girl?” Usually the answer is something like, “She smells good. She’s unusual.” Being Human has a better answer. You’ll have to read the book to get that answer, but trust me, it’s good. It’s understandable. And it’s really, really human.
The bigger love story in Being Human is the love story between the vampire and his human twin brother. I’m not a twin, so I don’t know anything about the bond between twins, but I’ve met enough twins to believe in it. This bond extends beyond death for these brothers and ties the vampire to humanity in a way that is unique among vampires. Most of the vampires in this book kill their families, no matter how close they were to them in life. After being turned, the only thing vampires care about is survival. That means that the sleeping human in the other room is fair game and they don’t feel any guilt about feeding from their gene pool.
In Being Human, vampires don’t retain memories of their human lives. They know how to walk and talk and they have instincts that teach them to hunt humans, avoid the sun and Vampire Forces, and survive, but they don’t understand why humans do the things they do. Well, that’s not entirely true. The vampire in this book understands why humans walk for exercise, because it keeps them healthy and helps them survive, but not why they walk for pleasure. One of my favorite scenes in this book is when the vampire is taught how to brush his teeth. Do you ever think brushing your teeth is weird? I don’t. Lynne wrote the scene in a way that kept me in the book, but made me step back and think, “Wow, that is a strange practice. Spreading goo over your teeth to make them smell better.” Almost as strange as people going to school dances where no one dances.
Being Human is almost ready for publishing and I highly recommend you buy it as soon as it is. You can follow Lynne’s blog here: http://plbjourney.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 22, 2011
Begin Again
As seems to be all the rage in our internet driven world, I feel the need to be sucked into blogging. What should I write about though? How about what I do with my days, which is mainly work. I work two jobs, one as a freelance editor and one as a hotel front desk clerk. I love editing, it's my favorite thing to do, but the health benefits and steady paycheck from the hotel are too good to pass up. So, for now, let's leave this introduction as is and I'll be back soon with some fun stories from the third shift and editing world!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Mid-day meditation
It's been a few days since I've posted, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten my challenge. I have missed a few days due to travel. I don't like anyone to see me meditate (I think I look silly) so sharing a room with my mom wasn't very condusive to meditating. I made sure to meditate today, though. I had a dinner date with my family and, since I tend to be a little quiet and withdrawn during family meals, I decided to try to get happy before the dinner. I got to the restaurant early and spent 10 minutes in my car smiling and focusing on the sound of the rain on the roof. I love the sound of rain, don't you? It was very relaxing. I think I succeeded in my goal since I was pretty smiley when I went in the restaurant (even after being soaked). Unfortunately, things went downhill kind of quickly. I felt a little insulted moments after greeting my family and that kind of ruined my good mood.
I have been trying so hard lately to release the woman I'm in love with. She needs to gain some self-confidence and self-esteem and I can't help her with that. I have tried, but it's something she needs to do herself. No one can make her believe she's beautiful and worthwhile. So, I've been trying to let her go into God's hands. I believe God can reach her heart and soul where I can't, so whenever I think about her, I pray for her. I've been praying a lot. I think it's a good thing, though. God and I don't talk often enough. Praying for her problems prompts me to pray for my own release and I think God's the only one who can truly change my heart, too.
Between the meditation and the prayer (and the talking to her less), my heart has been a more restful place. For the most part. Money problems are getting me down and family problems always bog down my spirits, but I am trying to focus on the future and the positive. I'm going to share a poem with you tonight. It's Shel Silverstein's The Land of Happy.
Have you been to The Land of Happy,
Where everyone's happy all day,
Where they joke and they sing
Of the happiest things,
And everything's jolly and gay?
There's no one unhappy in Happy,
There's laughter and smiles galore.
I have been to The Land of Happy-
What a bore!
What a great reminder to you and me that life's most entertaining moments are not found in peace and happiness. The pain of the trenches and crawling through metaphorical mud make much better stories. No matter how much you're hurting in whatever life is throwing at you and no matter how much you wish for a life without pain or drama, just remember that what you're living through will make a great story, today or tomorrow. A life without pain is boring. Friends bring pain, pets bring pain, family brings pain. Money, food, cars, houses, all things can bring you pain. But without those things and relationships, what would our lives be worth living for?
I have been trying so hard lately to release the woman I'm in love with. She needs to gain some self-confidence and self-esteem and I can't help her with that. I have tried, but it's something she needs to do herself. No one can make her believe she's beautiful and worthwhile. So, I've been trying to let her go into God's hands. I believe God can reach her heart and soul where I can't, so whenever I think about her, I pray for her. I've been praying a lot. I think it's a good thing, though. God and I don't talk often enough. Praying for her problems prompts me to pray for my own release and I think God's the only one who can truly change my heart, too.
Between the meditation and the prayer (and the talking to her less), my heart has been a more restful place. For the most part. Money problems are getting me down and family problems always bog down my spirits, but I am trying to focus on the future and the positive. I'm going to share a poem with you tonight. It's Shel Silverstein's The Land of Happy.
Have you been to The Land of Happy,
Where everyone's happy all day,
Where they joke and they sing
Of the happiest things,
And everything's jolly and gay?
There's no one unhappy in Happy,
There's laughter and smiles galore.
I have been to The Land of Happy-
What a bore!
What a great reminder to you and me that life's most entertaining moments are not found in peace and happiness. The pain of the trenches and crawling through metaphorical mud make much better stories. No matter how much you're hurting in whatever life is throwing at you and no matter how much you wish for a life without pain or drama, just remember that what you're living through will make a great story, today or tomorrow. A life without pain is boring. Friends bring pain, pets bring pain, family brings pain. Money, food, cars, houses, all things can bring you pain. But without those things and relationships, what would our lives be worth living for?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Smiling as a chore
Today was my first day meditating. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to keep the place silent or not while I meditate (or even if there are rules). I put some music on. It helps me keep my brain quiet. Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I like the fact that I can't understand the lyrics. Life has been really stressful since yesterday, yet I am oddly cheerful. My Jen is in the hospital and I was pretty much scared numb yesterday. Today I found out that I've probably lost my job. It was only something to keep money coming in while I work on my books, but I still need the money. I figure I probably have to record my stress factors while I examine whether or not my experiment is helping me.
Smiling for 10 minutes straight is painful. I'm not used to smiling for that long non-stop and my face was hurting afterwards. My back was hurting too, but that's just because of my bad posture. I am feeling more cheerful and smiley now. Not a lot, but it's nice to feel a smile on my face that doesn't want to go away. I like it :)
Smiling for 10 minutes straight is painful. I'm not used to smiling for that long non-stop and my face was hurting afterwards. My back was hurting too, but that's just because of my bad posture. I am feeling more cheerful and smiley now. Not a lot, but it's nice to feel a smile on my face that doesn't want to go away. I like it :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Down, but not out
If you follow this blog, then you know that this month has not been a good one for my challenge. I started out valiantly trying to see the sunrise and it died pretty quickly. Truthfully, with my nocturnal tendancies, seeing the sunrise every day was just not feasible. But that's okay. I saw a couple and I was well rested for the rest of my life this month. And this month has been crazy. Women hurting me, guests visiting, work kicking my butt. September will be a busy month for me too, but I hope that my September challenge will fit into my life a little easier.
This coming month's challenge comes straight out of Eat, Pray, Love. I went to see the movie a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. I thought it was a great movie that you had to be in the right (or wrong) place emotionally to truly appreciate. If you've seen it, then that should tell you where I've been emotionally. I have been lost in the soul of another person and, while I still love her, I want to move out of her soul and back into my own.
I thought for a while that my efforts to focus on who I am rather than who I am with her were selfish. I thought that I should be focusing outwards, on other people I love, rather than inwards on myself. But you know what? I love myself and I have to keep working on that. I am not always an easy to person to love (yes, I do know that) but there are a lot of things about myself that are wonderful. When I get lost in the soul of a woman who doesn't want me, it's too easy to only see the flaws she sees. So now for the challenge.
I am not a meditating person. The idea of sitting in one place thinking about nothing is kind of painful and boring sounding to me. I don't have any interest in yoga (although tai chi sounds appealing). So this month, I will meditate. As the creepy old guy with no teeth told Liz in the movie, I will meditate and smile. Smile with my face, smile with brain, smile with my liver. Not really sure how I'm going to achieve the last one, but I will try. I will try to meditate for 10 minutes a day, more if I feel the need to. It's a pretty well documented fact that smiling will make you happy and I need that. So, if you are like me and you need to be happy with who you are again, I would also challenge you to join me. Join me in making yourself happy and not relying on someone else to do it for you.
This coming month's challenge comes straight out of Eat, Pray, Love. I went to see the movie a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. I thought it was a great movie that you had to be in the right (or wrong) place emotionally to truly appreciate. If you've seen it, then that should tell you where I've been emotionally. I have been lost in the soul of another person and, while I still love her, I want to move out of her soul and back into my own.
I thought for a while that my efforts to focus on who I am rather than who I am with her were selfish. I thought that I should be focusing outwards, on other people I love, rather than inwards on myself. But you know what? I love myself and I have to keep working on that. I am not always an easy to person to love (yes, I do know that) but there are a lot of things about myself that are wonderful. When I get lost in the soul of a woman who doesn't want me, it's too easy to only see the flaws she sees. So now for the challenge.
I am not a meditating person. The idea of sitting in one place thinking about nothing is kind of painful and boring sounding to me. I don't have any interest in yoga (although tai chi sounds appealing). So this month, I will meditate. As the creepy old guy with no teeth told Liz in the movie, I will meditate and smile. Smile with my face, smile with brain, smile with my liver. Not really sure how I'm going to achieve the last one, but I will try. I will try to meditate for 10 minutes a day, more if I feel the need to. It's a pretty well documented fact that smiling will make you happy and I need that. So, if you are like me and you need to be happy with who you are again, I would also challenge you to join me. Join me in making yourself happy and not relying on someone else to do it for you.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Sunrise and worship
As of this morning, I have seen the sun rise twice this month. The first two days of the month I was too tired to stay up that late, but I managed it on the 3rd. This morning's sunrise was interrupted by my father waking up and turning a bunch of lights on. In order to really appreciate the shifts in the natural light, one must not be surrounded by artificial light.
I've been enjoying watching the sunrise, actually. We have a pond in our backyard with a lot of animals living there, so it's fun to listen to the birds wake up. It's silent one moment, then one bird makes a noise, and then whole set of them start talking. I also like watching the shifts in light. I studied stage lighting in college, so it's fun to look at the colors in the sunrise and compare them to the colors in the sunset. I like watching the leaves on the trees go from one dark blob to barely distinguishable individual dark leaves to green leaves.
Watching the sun rise also makes me wish I was into Earth worship. I don't actually want to worship the Earth, but I think it's silly to remove the Earth's cycles and properties from your worship of the Creator. Watching the sunrise makes me want to be in a circle with candles at the four corners, chanting and singing. Maybe that sounds silly, but it's what I want. I don't actually think I will (my father would not be pleased to wake up to me chanting) but it's a nice thought. This morning I ended up thinking more about a personal situation than what I was watching though and I kind of wished I didn't have to sit there with nothing to do but think and watch.
I've been enjoying watching the sunrise, actually. We have a pond in our backyard with a lot of animals living there, so it's fun to listen to the birds wake up. It's silent one moment, then one bird makes a noise, and then whole set of them start talking. I also like watching the shifts in light. I studied stage lighting in college, so it's fun to look at the colors in the sunrise and compare them to the colors in the sunset. I like watching the leaves on the trees go from one dark blob to barely distinguishable individual dark leaves to green leaves.
Watching the sun rise also makes me wish I was into Earth worship. I don't actually want to worship the Earth, but I think it's silly to remove the Earth's cycles and properties from your worship of the Creator. Watching the sunrise makes me want to be in a circle with candles at the four corners, chanting and singing. Maybe that sounds silly, but it's what I want. I don't actually think I will (my father would not be pleased to wake up to me chanting) but it's a nice thought. This morning I ended up thinking more about a personal situation than what I was watching though and I kind of wished I didn't have to sit there with nothing to do but think and watch.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Moving on
Well, it's that time of month again. Time to reflect on this past month's challenge and prepare to move on to the next one. I wanted a challenge in July that didn't demand much from me. I wanted to be able to relax a bit from the daily challenge stuff and what I chose did provide that relaxation from me. Unfortunately, I think I relaxed a bit too much. I only got through Jane Eyre this month. I have been reading a lot of Shakespeare and I read parts of 1984 and Atlas Shrugged (my favorite book). I also read The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy and parts of The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth and The Historian. I was hoping that I'd actually read more classics this month than I did, but all it really motivated me to do was avoid my bookshelf. I disliked that. So, we won't be doing this challenge ever again.
For August, I am returning to the daily challenge. This month's challenge will be seeing the sunrise every morning. I am nocturnal by nature and I like it that way. However, this whole challenge thing is meant to shake me out of my routine and place me in the path of new things. I have enjoyed the few sunrises I have seen in the past, so there you go. I am not restricting myself as to what I do after the sunrise though. By that I mean, I can stay awake to watch the sun rise and then go to sleep or I can wake up in time to watch the sun rise. I'm curious to see which one I do more often. I'm hoping that this event-driven sleep schedule will force me to be awake more and get more done with my day.
For August, I am returning to the daily challenge. This month's challenge will be seeing the sunrise every morning. I am nocturnal by nature and I like it that way. However, this whole challenge thing is meant to shake me out of my routine and place me in the path of new things. I have enjoyed the few sunrises I have seen in the past, so there you go. I am not restricting myself as to what I do after the sunrise though. By that I mean, I can stay awake to watch the sun rise and then go to sleep or I can wake up in time to watch the sun rise. I'm curious to see which one I do more often. I'm hoping that this event-driven sleep schedule will force me to be awake more and get more done with my day.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Shakespeare
David Copperfield is still sitting on my desk, trying to avoid my kitty cat's claws. I don't know why she chooses to attack a book I want to read and not The Sun Also Rises. If she liked attacking Catcher in the Rye I would happily get copies of that piece of trash for her to shred too, but no. She chews on my old homework and tries to shred David Copperfield and Harry Potter. My poor confused baby.
I suppose I have been mostly reading classic books lately, but not with the single minded pursuit I hoped this month's challenge would bring. I have been studying and working like a fiend lately. That means a lot of reading that stupid, stupid CAM book and pretty, pretty Shakespeare. I don't think there are many people out there who would debate Shakespeare's place on the classics shelf, so I'm still safe with that. I have set aside my pregnancy book in favor of work and Law and Order, so less reading there too. Overall, I feel like I'm not reading at all, but I know I am. It's just all work reading. Still, if my job involves reading Shakespeare, how bad can life really be?
I suppose I have been mostly reading classic books lately, but not with the single minded pursuit I hoped this month's challenge would bring. I have been studying and working like a fiend lately. That means a lot of reading that stupid, stupid CAM book and pretty, pretty Shakespeare. I don't think there are many people out there who would debate Shakespeare's place on the classics shelf, so I'm still safe with that. I have set aside my pregnancy book in favor of work and Law and Order, so less reading there too. Overall, I feel like I'm not reading at all, but I know I am. It's just all work reading. Still, if my job involves reading Shakespeare, how bad can life really be?
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Getting distracted
Well, I've already broken the rules this month. On the plane ride home, I couldn't bring myself to suffer through any more of The Sun Also Rises. I just don't like it and I believe it has been abandoned for greener pastures. For right now, the greener pastures are The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. I am not pregnant, but I love reading about pregnancy and to have that shiny new book in my carry on next to David Copperfield was just too much temptation. I gave in and amused myself with this very funny book and it has remained what I want to read. (I really hate starting a book and not finishing it if I want to.) So, for now, I am trying to read the Guide quickly and get back to Challenge.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
One down
Well, reader, I finished Jane Eyre on the plane up to Maryland. If you've read it, do you think that the ending kind of sucked? I don't mean the plot points of the ending. I think that Charlotte Bronte produced a lovely happy ending. I simply mean that I felt like she didn't want to end the book or maybe she didn't know how. The writing at the end felt rushed and half cocked to me. Perhaps she ran out of time and had to write the last chapter more quickly than the others? I don't know.
I've been pretty busy here in Maryland, but I have started reading The Sun Also Rises. I'm kind of amazed that it's considered a good book. I'm a few chapters in and have yet to find the writing or the plot engaging. Hemingway introduces characters without explaining who they are or what their relationship to the protagonist is. I don't have a problem with that as long as you explain their relationship shortly after the introduction, but that hasn't happened yet. Hopefully, it will get better as it goes on.
I've been pretty busy here in Maryland, but I have started reading The Sun Also Rises. I'm kind of amazed that it's considered a good book. I'm a few chapters in and have yet to find the writing or the plot engaging. Hemingway introduces characters without explaining who they are or what their relationship to the protagonist is. I don't have a problem with that as long as you explain their relationship shortly after the introduction, but that hasn't happened yet. Hopefully, it will get better as it goes on.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Jane Eyre
I'm now about 3/4 of the way through Jane Eyre and I hope to finish it today or tomorrow. It was a slow start, but I am completely involved now. I kind of think Mr Rochester is an ass, but I think it's really just that Charlotte Bronte is awesome at writing men. Because really, how many men still use the "I'm going to find a new woman half my age because my current wife is an embarassment who won't have sex with me" trick? I'm proud of Jane for not falling for it. No offense to any "other women" out there...
I have about 5 hours of plane time (not to mention airport time) in my future, so I should have some fun reading this week. I stopped by the library to pick up Great Expectations for my trip. Alas, the library here sucks and they didn't have it. They did have David Copperfield, though, so that's coming with me up North. I also grabbed The Sun Also Rises. I hear that Hemingway is "so romantic" but that he's "a misogynistic pig who spent half his life hanging around Picasso trying to screw his leftovers". But that's coming from "a bitter, self-righteous hag who has no friends", so I may have to chalk that up to her being a "Miss I Have An Opinion About Everything". Seriously, points to you if you get my references. One of the best Shakespeare movies EVER.
I have about 5 hours of plane time (not to mention airport time) in my future, so I should have some fun reading this week. I stopped by the library to pick up Great Expectations for my trip. Alas, the library here sucks and they didn't have it. They did have David Copperfield, though, so that's coming with me up North. I also grabbed The Sun Also Rises. I hear that Hemingway is "so romantic" but that he's "a misogynistic pig who spent half his life hanging around Picasso trying to screw his leftovers". But that's coming from "a bitter, self-righteous hag who has no friends", so I may have to chalk that up to her being a "Miss I Have An Opinion About Everything". Seriously, points to you if you get my references. One of the best Shakespeare movies EVER.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
First week
Well, dear reader, we're roughly a week into July (can you believe it's already a week?!). I have been reading my handbook for the CAM test, but that's the only non-classic book I've been reading. Trust me, I would rather be reading cereal boxes than this handbook, but I don't want to take this test more than once. I am also about a quarter of the way through Jane Eyre. It's a slow start, but I am really enjoying the story. It's so awkward to go from the everyday language of facebook and blogs to the beautiful, elaborate words of 1847. We prefer simplicity in our communications today and Charlotte Bronte did not. The story, thus far at least, is not particularly elaborate. I don't believe that the romance is realistic or even desirable, but the words she uses to describe Jane's life are so different from our own.
One thing that I've been intrigued by, reading this book, is how different "ideal" courtships are throughout time and authors. Bronte and Austen write courtships that are begun chastely between people of neighboring classes. Frequently these courtships start with friendships based on banter. At least, that is what I have seen. Ayn Rand writes courtships that are based on first impressions, respect for one's ability, and violence. Twilight shows a courtship based on obsession and unpredictability and another courtship based on friendship and protection. Which is right? Are any of them wrong? Do you think that these changes are based on cultural/chronological changes or simply personal preferences written into stories?
One thing that I've been intrigued by, reading this book, is how different "ideal" courtships are throughout time and authors. Bronte and Austen write courtships that are begun chastely between people of neighboring classes. Frequently these courtships start with friendships based on banter. At least, that is what I have seen. Ayn Rand writes courtships that are based on first impressions, respect for one's ability, and violence. Twilight shows a courtship based on obsession and unpredictability and another courtship based on friendship and protection. Which is right? Are any of them wrong? Do you think that these changes are based on cultural/chronological changes or simply personal preferences written into stories?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Finally, the end of June
Well, my friends, June is over and it's time to move on from this month's challenge. I have to say, I'm thrilled. Finding something scary to eat every day became more a chore than a challenge and most of the time it meant subjecting myself to disgusting flavors and textures. I did find a few good things that I can eat again that I would not have, so I guess it's a win.
Because I am so tired of the "every day" challenge, July's challenge will be different. I will only read classics during July. No Twilight, Harry Potter, or Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (side note- AAR is getting married in 4 days and I'm super excited for her!). I'm hoping to try to get through Jane Eyre and Great Expectations. We'll see how it goes. July is a busy month, what with my birthday and taking the CAM test and all.
I hope you enjoyed my food blogs and I hope you like July's challenge too!
Because I am so tired of the "every day" challenge, July's challenge will be different. I will only read classics during July. No Twilight, Harry Potter, or Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (side note- AAR is getting married in 4 days and I'm super excited for her!). I'm hoping to try to get through Jane Eyre and Great Expectations. We'll see how it goes. July is a busy month, what with my birthday and taking the CAM test and all.
I hope you enjoyed my food blogs and I hope you like July's challenge too!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Steamfresh
I know it's been a few days since my last entry. Having a challenge every day is a lot more difficult than I really thought it would be. Next month's challenge is going to be something I don't have to do every day. Today I had a bag of Steamfresh chicken flavored rice with vegetables. I don't normally eat stuff that's different from what I normally go for, so I decided to pick up this weird concoction. I microwaved it for the specified amount of time. I think it needed a little longer, the rice was chewier than I really like. It smelled absolutely awful, but I dutifully took that bite. It wasn't very good. I didn't eat more than that. The veggies were so tiny it seemed like there were barely any there. Definately not worth purchasing, let alone trying again. I'll just stick to RiceaRoni when I want chicken flavored rice.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Ben and Jerry's
Ben and Jerry's makes my favorite ice cream. Yes, most women can say the same thing. My favorite is Half Baked, a combination of Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I would never pay the high price for a pint of Ben and Jerry's that I didn't already know I loved, so I never considered their ice cream an option for my June challenge. Until I remembered their mini cups. Mini cups cost a dollar (still an insane price for the amount of ice cream inside) so they are easier to try and discard. Of course, Ben and Jerry's only makes 3 varieties of mini cups: Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I'm guessing you can figure out which one I purchased for today's challenge. The first thing about Cherry Garcia that surprised me was the color. I was expecting cherry ice cream to be pink. It was not. It was white. Makes sense, I suppose. No artificial colors. The combination of cherry and chocolate threw me off. Who wants cherry and chocolate in the same bite? Very strange. I did not care for the ice cream, though I did find that I appreciated the high quality of the ingredients. There are actual pieces of cherry in Cherry Garcia! Cherries are one of my favorite fruits, though I can't eat them often. It's a shame I didn't like this ice cream.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Panera Bread
Today, while waiting for my father, I spent an hour and a half at Panera Bread. Dad bought me lunch, but I got my favorites (chicken noodle soup and mac and cheese). I also bought myself the delicious black cherry smoothie. Amazing! As my scary food, I opted for the brownie. Okay, no, a brownie is not that scary. I am running out of courage for this challenge though. The brownie was not ideal, so I got it. Afterwards, I drifted past the free samples table. "This is perfect!" I thought. "Bite size pieces of something I don't want to eat!" Sure enough, there it was. Cinnamon chip scone. I have been wanting to try the cinnamon chip scone, but I was afraid to spend money on it and hate it. I'm not really a scone person. I like cinnamon and sugar though, so now's the perfect time to try the scary scone. It was really good. The scone texture was a bit irritating around the edges, but not enough to keep me from eating it again. I loved the flavor and I really liked that there was nothing chewy in it, like raisins or currants. A definate win for Panera Bread!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
4Rivers and then some
If you read this blog, you know that a few days ago I enjoyed some barbeque from 4Rivers. Well, we have continued to enjoy it for dinner ever since. My mother, trying to spice things up a bit, took the barbeque and turned it into the fixings for taco night. Mexican food is on my permanent list of "Food I Will Not Consume". Since I'm trying scary things though, I figured I had to try some. My mother added some kind of mild taco sauce to the chicken, so I put some on my plate. I was expecting it to be spicy and it wasn't really. She was right, it was very mild. Spicier than I prefer, but then ketchup is spicier than I prefer most of the time. The taste of it, however, was disgusting. I don't know why anyone would want to consume that flavor combination on a regular basis. Ew.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
