As Yet Untitled

I bought a ton of mushrooms. Like, a huge ton. Mostly because these cookbooks I have been reading have been suggesting them, urging them, almost begging me to use them. So I decided to give it a try. This particular dish was found on Pioneer Woman's blog , but because I didn't have all the exact ingredients she asked for, and also didn't really care for all the ingredients that she asked for, I made a lot of changes when cooking the recipe for myself. For instance, PW asked me to use a whole fryer chicken, boil it, and shred it from scratch. I, being the lazy woman with a small kitchen, decided that instead of going whole hog, I would cheat. So I bought a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and just picked it apart with my hands. This served the dual purpose of providing me with something delicious to munch on while cooking, and adding all those fattening, delicious rotisserie flavors to the meal. This was the biggest, but by no means the only change I made to the recipe, so here...

Poets & Writer's magazine has recently started a new little segment called "The Time is Now". It is a writing prompt that is updated weekly. Well, two writing prompts: one for poetry and one for fiction. (I guess most people don't need a formal prompt to get started writing non-fiction). I have been afraid of creative writing for a long time. I am an editor. I look at what other people have written and I judge it ruthlessly. So, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to take myself out of my judgey comfort zone and try to be an author. I don't have any real great ideas for a book, but I thought, maybe if I just keep trying these little writing prompts maybe I will learn something--like a new skill!! Below is the prompt from a couple weeks ago (because it took me that long to write something I thought came even close to worthy of putting on the internet). I encourage everyone to judge me ruthlessly--don't hold back! And give the prompts a try! It is actu...

There are a lot of issues concerning the rights of women and children being debated both locally and nationally right now. I find myself very strongly on one side of that argument, but that is not what I am here to discuss. At least, not specifically. In order to complete my master's degree in English, I am taking a class in Victorian literature. For the last few weeks in that class, we have been studying Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and my world has been completely changed. In most classes, when you study EBB, you study her Sonnets to the Portuguese, or, as I think of them, "How much I love my husband". They are very romantic and extremely well-written, but reading her other, less universally acknowledged works has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have just read Aurora Leigh . For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with this work, let me give a brief overview. Aurora Leigh is a young woman recently returned to England after the death of her father. I say r...

Elizabeth I is one of my biggest heroes. She was a woman with ambition. A woman with a plan. She knew exactly what she wanted and she got it--all the time. Whether it was a man, a throne, a victory in war, whatever. She had the power. And she did it all on her own. She was England's female king, and she had a long rule that turned out to be one of the most peaceful, prosperous lengths of time that England ever experienced. She refused to marry because she would never allow herself to play second fiddle. She was beautiful, witty, talented, intelligent, driven, and convicted in her beliefs. If she were alive today she would probably be the CEO of a major international corporation. Because she was just that good. I could gush about her forever, but the real reason I bring her up is because I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want to accomplish in my life and what is keeping me from doing it. I have a lot of ambitions--too many, I sometimes think, because so f...

I have come to a nasty realization. I am getting married in two months. This in itself is not so horrible--in fact, I am pretty excited about it. But when gazing at myself in the mirror yesterday I was forced to confront some very hard truths about my arms. And legs. And abdomen. I am overweight. I am not going to use the term "fat". Because it just seems kind of desperate and self-deprecating, as if I want the world to feel sorry for me over something I have done to myself. At any rate, I have grown drastically in size over the last couple years and have spent that time systematically denying the fact that I sit at a desk, no longer have classes to walk to, and spend a lot of time at home alone, working on homework, reading, and writing. The sad truth is that I just straight up don't enjoy most forms of exercising. I enjoy low-intensity, individual sports like archery, horseback riding, and rock climbing. And I have never wanted to be one of those girls who is absolutely...

I am in the midst of the arduous process of revamping the look of my blog. When I first undertook this project I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I have been browsing backgrounds, headers, dividers, buttons, and who knows what all else for the last couple days and am finding it almost unbearably difficult to achieve the look and feel that I want for this blog. But, I shall persevere. And when I emerge from the battlefield, my blog will have a new name, a new face, a whole new identity. So for now, move to the left lane and avoid the orange cones. The construction is only temporary. What are some tips you have used for making your blog more personal? Share with me your expert knowledge!

Since I kind of missed the boat on the whole New Year's post, I thought I would just take some time to reflect on my life thus far, and give the world my top ten list of books that I have loved throughout my life. These are the ones with real staying power, that I have read until the covers are falling off. The books I go to when I need the comfort of an old friend, the stability of knowing what is going to happen and that everything is going to turn out all right. These are the books with dog ears, underlines, tea rings, broken spines, and all the devotion I have to give. So, enjoy. I hope that some of these books end up being friends to you all as well. They are in no particular order, because I just can't play favorites. 1. The Born In Trilogy, by Nora Roberts This is technically three books, but I have them in one volume. The trilogy takes place in Ireland and chronicles the stories of three sisters. (Each book is devoted to a different sister's story.) Although Nora R...