Walking Away

I turned another corner last night, Blog Land. I walked away...and walking away isn't always a bad thing.

 
 

Bitten

Those of you who are faithful readers of my blog may remember that a couple of months back I asked your opinion in deciding whether or not to post excerpts from the book I began writing about 3 years ago. I thank each and every one of you that responded. However, the opinion of Blog Land was decidedly split. So I ended up having to make the decision completely on my own anyway. Ha. As it happens, I have decided not to post excerpts. Though it is a very compelling story in that it actually happened, it is a story that was really for my own personal healing. I cannot bare my soul to the masses. 

HOWEVER.

I have recently been bitten again by the writing bug and the wheels have definitely started turning in the direction of a new novel. I haven't figured out much yet...but I do know that it will be a psychological thriller/mystery. I haven't started writing yet...in fact, I don't even have an outline...except what's in my head. But each time that I think about writing this book...the story line grows a little more in my mind. 

Even more exciting is that I have enlisted the help of my dear baby sister, whose imaginative abilities and creatively genius thought processes surpass my own by far. She will be my go-to idea person. 

Are you excited, Blog Land??

Haha.

I'm excited! 

Scary Stories, Giggles, and ZZzzss

Do you remember those times when you were younger and all your family was at someone's house for a get together and by the end of the night, you and all your cousins ended up in someone's bedroom all smooshed onto one bed...giggling, pushing each other off, and trying to scare each other?

As a kid, I experienced many times like those and...miracle of miracles...I got to experience that again this past weekend. As I mentioned before, my sister and I left on Thursday night for a little getaway to my mom and step-dad's house. My 10 year old twin step-sisters were there, along with my older step-sister's two little daughters.

On Saturday night, we had a movie marathon  and once we got to the third movie, I decided I was all movied out and laid down on the bed in my mom's room. The lights were out and I didn't think anyone had seen me go in, but after about 5 minutes, my sister wandered in...said she didn't want to watch the movie either, and crawled into the bed as well. It was only about a matter of 15 minutes before the twins and the nieces came in...effectively ending the silence. Ha.

I was laying horizontally on the very end of the bed...my sister was toward the top...and the kids were everywhere in between. LoL. The lights were still out and it wasn't long before Jess started trying to scare the twins by telling stories of a "red-eyed" girl who lived in the closet and in the wall. Haha. This of course sent everyone scurrying under the covers...and the fight for the blankets commenced. I was  nearly pushed off the bed about twice and got my head squashed too many times to count. Haha. When that was over the twins starting talking about somebody from school whom they called..."chump butt". My sister and I nearly fell off the bed again...this time from cracking up. Go ahead Blog Land...say "Chump...Butt" out loud. Now try not to giggle...pretty impossible, eh? Ha. We continued to giggle until someone came up with the idea to have a contest to see who could pretend to be asleep the longest. Yup. You know what happened....next thing I know my step-dad is coming in the door flipping on the lights and yelling "wake up!". Hahaha. Isn't it funny how that happens....everyone's laughing and talking and then all of a sudden bam! Everyone's knocked out. LoL.

Anyway. That was just one part of a very fun weekend. We went to the Indianapolis Zoo on Friday...where I pet a SHARK!!! We went to this amazingly fun water park called Splash Island on Saturday...it has a lazy river!!! And on Sunday my step-dad grilled!!! In between all these fun activities the kids kept us in stitches pretty much the whole time. They are crazy fun.

In short, it was a ridiculously fun weekend and just what the doctor ordered.

WE FOUND NEMO!!

SO CLOSE...!

             

THE TWIN'S CREATIVITY...
THOSE ARE GLOVE PEOPLE...WITH DIAPERS...AND SMILES...
AND PONTY TAILS.... AND THEY'RE HOLDING HANDS...BAHAHA

A Ride on the Wild Side

It has been an especially trying week. I've been getting up an hour earlier to work out...my body is still trying to figure out what's going on, and Little Sis has been throwing temper tantrums, sometimes 2 or 3, everyday. Thankfully, today is my Thursday and after tomorrow I'm heading out of town for a mini vacation.

My daily "home from work routine" always involves throwing on some sweatpants and  big comfy shirt, cuddling up in the bed or on the couch with my faithful computer in hand and checking the news, blog stuff, and emails. And of course...Pinterest. Ha.

My home page is set to CNN (yes...I know...I'm a news buff nerd) and what usually greets me is the same depressing twaddle everyday. However, as I scrolled down the page a news bite caught my eye...it read, "Woman's Scooter Flips on Escalator". I figured this had to be some kind of joke. But nonetheless I clicked on the video...

Let's just say that after this week...I needed that laugh.

 Oh hush, blog land!

I know, I know...it could've been dangerous...blah..blah...I know...! And I am truly glad that the lady is all right. But...erm...that is one of the funniest...and one of the dumbest things I have ever seen. Especially considering there was an elevator she could have used.

So before you self-righteously shake your heads at my seemingly callous response...watch the video for yourselves...

Marcel the Shell

There are no words. . .just watch. . .HILARIOUS !

Pinterest = Cooking in Wonderland

I FINALLY made a recipe that I found on Pinterest! *SCREAM*

It was a recipe I happened upon and I must tell y'all...it is the BEST chicken I have ever made in my life! It's called Parmesan Chicken Bake and it pleasantly reminds me of the chicken that Olive Garden uses on their Fettuccine dish. Divinity in the form of chicken...yes ladies and gents...it's that good.

Even more exciting than the great taste is the fact that it's extremely easy to make. The longest part is waiting for the chicken to cook. The sauce is very easy and you probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry.

I'm usually a recipe hoarder...whenever someone asks me the recipe to an especially yummy dish I usually reply with a smug, "Ancient Chinese Secret", and then walk away. But this recipe is so divine that I have to share it with the world.

The name of the dish sort of implies that it's kind of like a casserole...it is not. It is simply a crust or a sauce which adds flavor. So make sure that you plan some veggies, pasta, or a salad to go on the side. I fixed a bag of the Green Giant Steamers Mixed Potatoes and Green beans in Rosemary Sauce. You can find it in the frozen veggie aisle at the grocery. Next time though, I think I'll make extra sauce and then serve the chicken over angel hair pasta. Mmmm!
Enjoy!

Source: mykitchenescapades.com via Rachelina-Leo on Pinterest

Parmesan Chicken Bake
6 chicken breasts
1 C light mayonnaise or Greek yogurt (I have done 1/2 of each as well)
1/2 c fresh Parmesan cheese, plus more for the top
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray the inside of a 9x13 glass pan.  Lay the chicken inside the pan.
2.  Mix together the remaining ingredients and spread evenly over each piece of chicken, being sure to cover all the exposed raw meat (so it doesn't dry out.)  Sprinkle on a bit more fresh parmesan over all the chicken.
3.  Bake for 45 minutes.  This dish is even better the next day, so just reheat in the microwave!

QuirkyAlone

I have finally figured out what I am. I am a quirkyalone.

Nope...that's not a typo...let me help you out with the official definition.

Quirkyalone: n. adj. a person who enjoys being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and prefers being single to dating for the sake of dating. It’s a mindset. Quirkyalone is not anti-love. It is pro-love. It is not anti-dating. It is anti-compulsory dating. 

The idea of quirkyalone was invented by a woman named Sasha Cagen. She has written a book and has a website. The Quirkyalone movement began with a simple essay. 


Now, to many of my readers this post may seem like it came out of the clear-blue sky. I'm not one to talk much about my love life...or rather the lack there-of...at least not on the World Wide Web. However, as my 25th birthday rapidly approaches, I have become increasingly aware that well...I'm alone. A few of my closest friends have been among the unfortunate set of people whose phones have been plaugued with "woe-is me, I'm alone" text messages over the last week. 

Now just to clarify...I'm usually pretty content with my single-hood. But...well...we all have our moments...or weeks. Ha. If there's anything that I hate, it's that feeling of discontentment with things as the are, yet an inability to change things. I have been told on numerous occassions, "Well, why don't you get out there just to date around." Um...because...that's a waste of my time? Duh. What's the point in dating just for the sake of dating? I don't like the idea. And sometimes...as much I hate going home after an evening out with friends to an empty apartment...I would prefer that to dating someone that I merely tolerate just because I don't want to be alone. 


It's a weird existence. A Catch-22 of sorts. The inevitable lonlieness that is a natural part of being single...and the incredible freedom of not settling either.


I would like to be in a relationship. In fact, I love being in relationships...but is it too much to want fireworks? Or at least a little bit of lightning? Ha. Nope. I think not and guess what? I won't settle for less. 


That being said, I officially dub myself a quirkyalone. 


And if Mr. Right comes along sometime soon...no one will be more surprised than me!

Below I've added the excerpt of Sasha Cagen's original essay. Pay attention...it could be you!

People Like Us: The Quirkyalones
by Sasha Cagen

I am, perhaps, what you might call deeply single. Almost never ever in a relationship. Until recently, I wondered whether there might be something weird about me. But then lonely romantics began to grace the covers of TV Guide and Mademoiselle. From Ally McBeal to Sex in the City, a spotlight came to shine on the forever single. If these shows had touched such a nerve in our culture, I began to think, perhaps I was not so alone after all.

The morning after New Year’s Eve (another kissless one, of course), a certain jumble of syllables came to me. When I told my friends about my idea, their faces lit up with instant recognition: the quirkyalone.

If Jung was right, that people are different in fundamental ways that drive them from within, then the quirkyalone is simply to be added to the pantheon of personality types assembled over the 20th century. Only now, when the idea of marrying at age 20 has become thoroughly passé, are we quirkyalones emerging in greater numbers.

We are the puzzle pieces who seldom fit with other puzzle pieces. Romantics, idealists, eccentrics, we inhabit singledom as our natural resting state. In a world where proms and marriage define the social order, we are, by force of our personalities and inner strength, rebels.

For the quirkyalone, there is no patience for dating just for the sake of not being alone. We want a miracle. Out of millions, we have to find the one who will understand.

Better to be untethered and open to possibility: living for the exhilaration of meeting someone new, of not knowing what the night will bring. We quirkyalones seek momentous meetings.

By the same token, being alone is understood as a wellspring of feeling and experience. There is a bittersweet fondness for silence. 

Sometimes, though, we wonder whether we have painted ourselves into a corner. Standards that started out high only become higher once you realize the contours of this existence. When we do find a match, we verge on obsessive—or we resist.

And so, a community of like-minded souls is essential.

Since fellow quirkyalones are not abundant (we are probably less than 5 percent of the population), I recommend reading the patron saint of solitude: German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Even 100 years after its publication, Letters to a Young Poet still feels like it was written for us: “You should not let yourself be confused in your solitude by the fact that there is something in you that wants to break out of it,” Rilke writes. “People have (with the help of conventions) oriented all their solutions toward the easy and toward the easiest side of easy, but it is clear that we must hold to that which is difficult.”

Rilke is right. Being quirkyalone can be difficult. Everyone else is part of a couple! Still, there are advantages. No one can take our lives away by breaking up with us. Instead of sacrificing our social constellation for the one all-consuming individual, we seek empathy from friends. We have significant others.

And so, when my friend asks me whether being quirkyalone is a life sentence, I say, yes, at the core, one is always quirkyalone. But when one quirkyalone finds another, oooh la la. The earth quakes.

—From To-Do List, July 2000, and Utne Reader, September 2000.

What do you think? Could that be you too?

Waaay over in Beulah

This past Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of my Granny's death. On the one side, I can't believe it's been a year already...it seems like it happened just yesterday. And on the other side...it feels like it was a lifetime ago. 


It has definitely been strange, especially on holidays. There are still times when I say to myself, "wait until I tell Granny this". Then I remember she's gone. If there's anything that I've learned in this last year, it's that grieving is a process and that everyone grieves differently. 


Just the other day, I was cleaning out my closet and I found a journal that the grief counselor recommended I start. As I read back over it, I was amazed at the rawness of my grief and amazed at how far I've come since then. One of my favorite scripture verses is Psalm 147:3. It says, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." 


As I have gone step by step through the grieving process, I have not walked alone. I have been so aware of the presence of Jesus and that has made all the difference in the world. I'm also so grateful for my closest friends who checked on me, listened to me, and prayed for me and with me. 


I miss my Granny still and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her, but I'm 100% sure that she is with Jesus...pain free...cancer free...and looking down on us with us a smile! She's walkin' in that New Jerusalem!