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June 17, 2014 by Suzanne

This week’s Getting It Together plan is for the living room.

But first – a little regrouping/housekeeping:

  • I still want to post recipes that I enjoy, particularly Mom’s recipes.  I love writing about food. I’ve gotten back into my rhythm of cooking and enjoying it, due in large part to rediscovering my love of reading cookbooks and foodie memoirs/fiction. But do you really need to see my detailed meal plan and grocery list? I do not think that you do.  There are more interesting ways to talk about food, and I am going to explore those ways.  You’re welcome.
  • I have emerged from my miniature vacation feeling revitalized but also recognizing the need to tweak the summer’s schedule.  It was actually pretty easy to tweak.  Instead of before-and-after posts, though, I’m going to reserve the majority of the reveal for the next-to-last week (Reflect). I will make exceptions when something exciting like this happens:

Before:

photo 2 (1) Sad books

 

After:

photo 3 (1) Happy books

 

But most of the work will be revealed at the end of the summer.

Part of the reason for this is practical.  I have a budget for the summer, but the resources are coming in paycheck-to-paycheck, so while I can complete most of a plan during the week, some parts of some plans will have to wait until the next payday. The main reason, however, is that it’s just too much. My apartment is not that big, and a lot of the changes are not that drastic.  Also, I change my mind on some things as I move from space to space, so the official end of a week is never really the end of that week.  Trying to write about this project as if it is anything other than the constantly evolving process that it is just wasn’t working.

Now back to this week’s plan.

The apartment layout is just four rooms – bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living area.  The living area is roughly the same size as the other three combined. This is good, because I moved here from a fairly spacious two-bedroom apartment, so something had to make up for the loss of my separate media/library/office room.  This is also challenging, because I had to figure out how to separate the different areas – living, office, dining – while still pulling the room together as a whole.

The separating-different-areas thing?  I’ve got that down.  I am happy with the arrangement of the furniture.  That will stay the same.

The pulling-the-room-together bit? That’s a different story.

Some days, I walk into my apartment and am overwhelmed by how much is going on in this one room. As you might imagine, this does not have the relaxing effect that one would want coming home after a long day to have. Fortunately, another feature of this room is four identical windows – two on each outside wall.  I think the windows are the key to pulling it together.

The room is so large and full that I couldn’t get a good picture of all four windows, but here are the middle two:

photo 1 (1)

I want curtains for all four windows that are not sheer and are the same, solid color.  I’m thinking red.  It’s a bold choice, but it worked in the other apartment, so I think it will work here, too. This poses a budgeting issue.  Matching curtain panels for four windows could be costly, so I will have to improvise.  I have accepted that, unless I get freakishly lucky, I will probably not be able to find what I want secondhand. But a quick measure of the windows reveals a wonderful thing: with a few minor sewing adjustments, a twin-sized flat sheet would be the perfect size. I can afford four twin-sized flat sheets. Of course, I will want a test run, so I’m going to use an old sheet set that I already have (and wouldn’t mind destroying, just in case my plan go horribly awry) that fits my color scheme for the bedroom. So if it works, I can use the test curtain on the window in the bedroom that is currently covered by an old, holey blanket (classy, I know).

The living room to-do list:

  • Curtains!
  • Declutter – behind the couch, the filing cabinet (both on top and inside), and the black bookshelf (which I realize, now that I’m thinking about it, will entail a complete reorganizing of all the bookshelves in the room, God help me)
  • Find something simple yet interesting to do with the newly decluttered, usable spaces

Posted in Food, Getting It Together | 1 Comment »

Red

June 16, 2014 by Suzanne

I don’t have a lot of “signature” things.  I have favorites, but you’ll notice that that word is plural.  I don’t have a signature fragrance, because I have many favorites – lemon, coffee, caramel, vanilla, amber, apple, coconut, etc. – and I use them pretty equally.  I don’t have a signature dish, because I have many favorite foods and favorite meals.

I do have a signature color. Red.

That doesn’t mean that red is my favorite color (if pressed to choose, it would probably be orange.  Probably.).  It doesn’t even mean that red is the color I wear most often – that would be green (because UNT…and well, let’s just say it – I look awesome in green).

I consider red my signature color because it’s the color that most closely expresses my habits and leanings.

1. My emotions are red.

I don’t always express my emotions, but when I do, they come out red.  It’s anger.  Or passion.  Or when I’m really riled up, it’s both.  It’s fiery. I’ve been told that, because I tend to be reserved, sometimes the fire is shocking.  I accept that.  I mean, I’m in my head, so I know that it started as a smolder, but I can see how it might look like I go from zero to flame-thrower in no time.

2. My environment is red.

Say what you want about fire, but you can’t deny that it’s warm.  Red is the color I am most drawn to when I decorate.  If they sell an appliance in red, that’s the one I’m going to want.  Red invites me.  It invigorates me. It defies complacency. Red sparks lively conversation.  I try to pour as  much red into my surroundings as possible.

3. My life is red.

Red signifies change.  For someone who claims to hate change as much as I do, I certainly do a lot of it. My life seems like a constant state of editing, revising, regrouping, reordering, and reevaluating.  As much as I like schedules and order, and as much as I value good time management and the reliability of sticking to what I say I’m going to do, there’s something so satisfying about taking that proverbial (and sometimes literal) red pen, slashing through whatever is not quite working, and replacing it with something better.

Today at the end of our launch meeting of Story 101, Elora asked us what we needed to give ourselves permission to do. My gut reaction was “permission to change,” but I don’t think that’s the whole of it. More specifically, I need to give myself permission to view change as productive instead of negative. I need to stop seeing all those red marks as failure and start seeing them as what they really are – fine-tuning.  They are the refining fire that burns away all that is almost and not quite in order to leave what is just right.

Posted in Getting It Together, Story Sessions | 5 Comments »

Rest and Regroup

June 11, 2014 by Suzanne

A quick look at my calendar tells me that this is supposed to be Week Five of my Getting It Together project.  I am not doing Week Five this week.  I have not finished the kitchen yet.  Halfway through Week Five, I am still working on Week Four, and of all the weeks, this is the one that I want to finish completely before moving on.

There are reasons for this delay that I could not have foreseen at the onset of the project.  The main reason is that I suddenly took on a summer class that started last week.  That eats up two nights a week and many hours of prep time that I didn’t have scheduled before.   The second reason is that I have been uncharacteristically hyper-social the last few weeks.  I am used to seeing people and having people over, but I had plans every single night last week. I don’t actually remember the last evening I spent at home, which means it’s been at least a couple of weeks. I love time with friends, but I need  a certain measure of solitude like I need air.

These are the reasons that I am exhausted.  This is not an acceptable state for summer. It is not acceptable to me that my system is so shot that I slept through three alarms this morning, despite having gone to bed earlier than usual.  I’ve been sleeping through alarms a lot lately, but I usually wake up at my regular schedule on my own.  That didn’t happen today.  What did happen today was a moderate anxiety attack (meaning that thankfully, it was more just hyperventilating with the subsequent lightheadedness and nausea than the usual oh-god-oh-god-my-heart-is-exploding) and a spontaneous hour and a half vacation from the morning at the desk when I finally woke up and realized it was 9:00 a.m., and I wasn’t there yet.

This is a warning sign, and I’m taking it seriously.

The summer is for resting and regrouping.  Yes, I have this big project planned, but it’s planned over twelve weeks.  So it’s a leisurely project, and I’m glad.  A big part of getting it together is self-care.  I can’t get it together if I can’t recognize when I need to take a little time off for leisure.

So this is me admitting that I need a couple of days of leisure in my life right now.

Yesterday, I got coverage for the some desk time, thinking that I could use the time off to catch up and be on the original schedule of the project and get a lot of writing done.  I planned to use the time off to work extra hard for five days straight and get ahead of schedule.  I had a ridiculous to-do list. I’m not sure it allowed for sleep.

But leisure is priority right now.  Starting tonight, I’m giving myself a five-day weekend.  I’m using three days vacation from the day job.  I’m not canceling class tomorrow night, but that might be the only thing I do tomorrow.

Friday is a total rest day.  I am making no plans (for those of you who have just tuned in, this is a Big Deal).  I will do only what I want to do. I might read; I might write; I might even do some dishes or laundry.  I might go to the library or to a coffee shop.  I might spend the whole day on the Internet (although I’m not convinced that counts as rest). Or I might sleep in, watch TV, eat lunch, take a nap, watch more TV, stare out the window a while, and then go back to bed.  I am erasing all expectations for Friday.

Saturday through Monday are my regrouping days. I am a scheduled person, but for the schedule to work, I also have to remember that I am an introverted person, so let’s see if we can dial down the anxiety by not having something out-of-house scheduled for every single night (self, are you listening?!). I still have a to-do list, but unlike the list I just tossed in the garbage, it’s actually sane.  It includes things like this:

  • Finish Week Four; post recap.
  • Rework project schedule; post plan for next step.
  • Update writing calendar through the end of August.
  • Update budget.
  • Plan meals for next few weeks – especially lunches. Make grocery lists for each week.
  • Go to church Sunday.
  • Go drink wine with Supper Club Sunday night.

It is a list of tasks that will smooth things out and make life after the break easier.  Easier is good.  Easier is necessary.

Posted in Getting It Together, Work, Writing | 1 Comment »

Shame On Me – The Musical

June 10, 2014 by Suzanne

Shame is a sneaky jerk.

Shame will find one thing – one tiny snippet of fact – and it will harp on it and blow it up into something big and ultimately untrue.  Shame can really ruin my day.

Hannah Ettinger, writer of Wine and Marble (which I highly recommend following, if you aren’t already), wrote a response to Ruth Graham’s article in Slate that stated from the top, “Read whatever you want.  But you should feel embarrassed when what you’re reading was written for children.” Graham argued for a higher standard of literature, cradling her opinion in an impressive nest of disclaimers, and Ettinger wrote a great response post.  It’s just the sort of exchange that I usually enjoy reading.

But Shame had other plans for the chorus in my head.  It took this seemingly innocuous topic and wrote a frickin’ musical.

The opening number went something like this:

Of course you like reading YA

It’s the easiest thing to read!

You don’t read

You don’t write

Rather stay out all night

How on earth will you ever succeed?!

Ouch. Busted.  I haven’t been reading – YA Lit or otherwise – lately, which means I haven’t really been writing lately. I’ve been blogging a bit, but I haven’t touched the WIPs (WsIP?  I’m not sure what the plural of WIP is) in weeks. Between the end of the semester and leaping right into summer, I haven’t had a break, and I’ve really needed one.  I told myself that summer itself is slower and thus break-ish, but my soul knows the difference between slowing the rush and resting for real, and Shame was eager to point it out to me.

My normal response to such an epiphany is to recognize the problem (check) and find a solution. I need to schedule some time to take off work. I need a couple of days to relax from my regular schedule so that I won’t derail into full-on panic mode.  Then I need a couple of days to regroup so that when I come back to the schedule it’s not so jarring. No big deal.  Easy fix.

But Shame isn’t done with me yet.  It wants me to feel like this need for a break is a sign that I can’t handle my life and implies that I am failing at it.  It launches into familiar hits, such as You’re Not A Real Grown-Up and This is Why You’re Alone and  How Long Does It Take to Pay Off a Loan? and Your Hot Mess Apartment and Buy a House Already, You Loser. Shame doesn’t want a solution. Shame wants me to dwell on my issues and mope about them, and it will use anything to make sure that happens.

But Shame made a mistake.  Shame wrote me in as a character. And while I might listen to Shame’s song for a little while, sooner or later I’m going to respond to its facts with some truth.

The dance number begins with a shimmy.  It erupts into a celebration of fun and rest. The lyrics answer every single major issue Shame wants me to remember. The song even circles back to the symptom Shame used to kick this show off.  I do think adults (and teenagers) benefit from reading classics.  I do think adults (and yes, even teenagers) benefit from reading complex contemporary literature. I especially think that writers of adult literature must read adult literature, if for no other reason than to know our market. But when a friend’s 15-year-old cousin came out, I was able to recommend Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and when a friend expressed how overwhelming it is to choose books and movies that will help her daughter contend with this world, I was able to explain why the princesses in Frozen are the princesses that I want little girls – you know, the people shaping our future world – to want to grow up to be, and neither of those conversations would have been possible if I had been too uppity to deign to read or watch them.

For adults who have or know children?

(Chorus) Every adult who is not a hermit

For adults who write YA novels?

(Chorus) Know your art; know your niche!

For adults who enjoy it?

(Chorus) We are going to do what we want!

All reading is right – all reading is good!

But responding to Shame’s accusations isn’t really the point, is it? Twisting the facts makes the facts useless. I can’t have a productive dialogue with a liar and a cheat, and that’s exactly who Shame is. The things on Shame’s list (and whether or not they are factual) are irrelevant.  The real question is this – does Shame get to use them to rule me?

The final number ends with these words:

Shame – I don’t owe you an explanation.

Shame – I don’t want your opinion.

Shame – I don’t need your “guidance.”

Shame – I don’t owe you an—y—thing!

Close curtain.

This post is part of a new link-up hosted by Marvia Davidson called Real Talk Tuesday. Click the button below to join us or add to the conversation!

real-talk-tuesday-mdavidson-button

 

Posted in Real Talk Tuesday | 8 Comments »

Doubt and Disagreeement

June 9, 2014 by Suzanne

[Some content is possibly triggery, particularly concerning LGBT issues and rape. Also, there might be an unpleasant metaphor/word or two.  This is not a charming post.]

[It is also not a very organized post.  Given the topic, maybe that’s appropriate. Maybe it’s best to think of it as a post in progress.]

It’s hard to find a church where doubt is welcome.  By doubt, I mean anything from “I’m not sure what to make of that verse” to “I’m not sure I believe in God anymore.” And by welcome, I don’t mean “Let us know your doubt so that we can squash it with scripture and a super intense prayer meeting and all be really disappointed in you when that doesn’t immediately work.” Don’t get me wrong – I’m not opposed to scripture or super intense prayer meetings.  I just don’t think that’s always (read: hardly ever) the best way to approach doubt.

Doubt must be voiced.  Voicing doubt is not necessarily stirring up contention or starting an argument; it might just be an invitation to explore more deeply. Voicing doubt is not necessarily the absence of faith; in fact, it might be an expression of faith.  Voicing doubt might be the child that asks the repeating “Why?” – might be curiosity and wonder instead of rebellion and angst.  Voicing doubt also might be rebellion and angst, but as anyone who has raised (or been) a teenager can attest, that, too, is a natural part of development.

And some things really deserve our rebellion.

Doubt is normal.

Disagreement is the not the same thing as doubt, but sometimes the church treats it like it is.  The main difference I have had with the (Protestant, evangelical, Bible Belt) churches I’ve attended is the way we read the Bible.  Most of the churches of which I’ve been a part take a pretty linear, literal reading of the Bible.  And that would be fine as long as this viewpoint didn’t come with a side helping of “my opinion is the truth, and you are in rebellion, deceived, or insert your phrase of choice for ‘not as real a Christian as the rest of us’ here.”

I don’t have a lot of problems with Jesus.  Oh, I have words with Jesus.  We wrestle and fight over things.  Sometimes, he’s not so talkative.  I think he likes to vacation a lot.  But I am lucky in that I seldom ever come away from hashing things out with Jesus feeling like an outsider.

I wish I could say the same of his church.

What inspires doubt in me? Other Christians who require me to believe that what God speaks to them is truer and more important than what God speaks to me.  On a good day, I just doubt the requirement.   I doubt the hell out of that.  On a good day, I call bullshit on the tyranny of needing to agree, and I go on with my day. But on a bad day – on a day when maybe Jesus hasn’t seemed to be around a lot lately – I need to be able to trust the people around me not to treat me like a project or a pariah. When my Advocate is silent, I need his church to rally around me, even if we don’t agree.

Dear church, I will be the first to say that if linear is the way your mind works, and that’s what moves you and guides you through your course in life, and if you find God that way – great.  Even if I disagree with your interpretation, I will try to understand where you are coming from. I will probably voice my disagreement, especially if you seem a little too gleeful for my comfort about the whole Bible-as-sword metaphor, but I can admit my bias – that it comes from being run through with the Good Book more times than I care to recall and so my skittishness is about that, not you. I will neither state nor imply that you are less of a Christian just because you disagree with me or do things differently than the way I do them, because I affirm that the Word of God – that is, Jesus Christ – is alive and well and can use his scriptures as he sees fit even when it makes me uncomfortable. I am happy to affirm you finding God in whatever way possible.

But if we’re going to be in fellowship, I’m gonna need you to reciprocate.

I’ve noticed that the Bible reads differently to me than it does to many of the people around me.  When I was younger and I heard someone say, “The Bible clearly says…” I would wonder if we had different Bibles.  Did I have an outdated version?  Did I need to upgrade? Because the Bible I was reading didn’t seem to be clear about many things.

River Tam understands me.

As I got older, I realized that I just wasn’t reading it the same way. My mind doesn’t seem to be able to fit God into anything linear and clear-cut.  It’s not that I don’t believe the Bible or that I don’t think the Bible is true.

It’s just that I believe that fact and truth are different words.

What if for me the Bible isn’t an instruction manual but rather a great work of literature – a story and a song – an allegory for God’s complicated love affair with humanity?

What if for me the Bible isn’t a book of answers but rather a book that inspires questions?

What if the hard stories in the Bible aren’t God telling us what he did – a divine tweet ending with #sorrynotsorry or #idowhatiwant – but rather God poking the bear, awakening our outrage at injustice?

– What if the tragic story of Lot’s daughter is not a story about how it’s so wrong to be gay that it would be better for your virgin daughter to be raped and murdered than to let your guests engage in gay sex(yes, a pastor actually said this from the pulpit…I could not run out of there fast enough) but rather God – a God who sees her and mourns her – telling and re-telling her story for as long as there is a Bible in print to be read?

– What if the story of Bathsheba is not about how God can use someone like David even though he was a murderer and an adulterer (as long as he repents and feels really, really bad about it, of course), or at least, not just about that – but rather God saying, “Hey, this woman was treated like property, and by someone who was called a man after my own heart – what do you think about that? Does that make you angry?  And if not, well…shouldn’t it?”

–  What if Job isn’t about a God who is so glory-hungry that he destroys everything in the life of his most faithful follower just to prove his dick is bigger than Satan’s but rather about how (not) to respond to a friend in pain and grief?

What if I read the Bible in a way that doesn’t make God out to be the villain instead of the savior?

What if sitting under a big, blue sky, not saying a word, is holy prayer? What if I’m far less worried than you think I should be about falling into worshipping the creation rather than the Creator? What if one thing I do see clearly is the difference between praying to and praying through? Are you willing to believe that I see it even if you don’t? Are you willing to acknowledge God’s right to speak to me as God sees fit, even if it’s not the same way (or even the same thing) God speaks to you?

Do you assume if my path is made of unevenly placed stepping stones masked by the fog of mystery instead of a neatly kept suburban sidewalk that it will all fall apart?

What if it does?

Will you still be around?

Can I trust you, church? Will I ever be able to trust you? Or are you just here to validate my doubt?

I’m linking up with other bloggers on the subject of doubt.  Join us by clicking the button below.

Doubt

Posted in Church | 17 Comments »

Sustain – Week Four Plan

June 3, 2014 by Suzanne

This week, I tackle the kitchen.

Confession – I don’t love my kitchen.  It’s so small, and there’s not quite room enough for all my things.  But Joy the Baker can work in a tiny kitchen, so I know that usefulness is possible.  It’s so much work.  There is a reason that my weekly maintenance plan includes daily kitchen time.  So.  Much.  Work.

This week is about deep cleaning (I might actually move the stove out and clean, because it is probably super funky behind there) and making it more user-friendly.

First, I want to give you an idea of what we’re working with.  My kitchen is a galley kitchen.  There is actually an impressive amount of cabinet space for how short this particular galley is.

IMG_0182

This is the stove side of the kitchen.  I would like to pretend that this is a particularly messy day.  I would like to blame The Great Egg Fiasco for this picture(you know what one of the messiest things in the world just might be?  When you crack what you think is a hard boiled egg and it turns out to be soft boiled, and this violates your expectations so of course egg yolk goes everywhere.  Vegans, 1.  Ovo-folk, 0.).  The truth is that this is better than my kitchen usually looks.  Hidden in that corner is my toaster oven, which I might use more often than my actual oven.  His name is Theodore.

IMG_0186

This is what the inside of that cabinet looks like.  There are usually bowls on the left side on the second shelf, but we just had pasta the night before, so all the bowls were dirty when this picture was taken. On account-a I’m short as hell, I can reach the first shelf and almost to the back of the second if I stretch or I’m wearing heels (maybe Donna Reed was actually onto something?).  This is why the step stool pictured above stays in a  perpetual state of readiness.

The cabinet below the counter is where all my cookware goes.

IMG_0184

This is the coffee nook.  It has potential, but it seems to be lacking something.  The cabinet above it has more coffee mugs than any one person should ever own.  I might weed a few out.  Might.  I make no promises.  I have attachment.

The cabinet below holds mixing bowls and miscellaneous appliances, such as the popcorn air popper, casserole dishes, larger measuring cups, etc.

IMG_0183

This is the sink side of the kitchen.  This is not the most interesting picture I could have taken, but I decided that you didn’t need to see a sink full of dirty bowls.  The refrigerator is bad enough.  All those scraps of paper are recipes that I tacked up there for ease of use but never took down. I did not take a picture of the inside of the fridge, because you might cry.  It’s so bad.  I kind of want to cry, just thinking about it.

IMG_0185

This is the shelf space above the sink and what passes for a pantry in my kitchen.  It stays fairly well organized but there’s clearly something weird happening on the bottom left. The lower cabinet on this side (not pictured) holds baking stuffs – assorted flours, sugar, baking soda, etc.

And finally…

IMG_0187

This is my kitchen overflow area, because I have too many things to fit in the microscopic kitchen. I have re-purposed the chest of drawers/armoire thing because I have more kitchenware than clothes.  I dream of the day when I have a decent-sized kitchen (and more room in the bedroom or closet) again and can use this piece of furniture for important things like shoes.

So that’s the situation.

Here’s what I want to do about it:

1. Switch the cabinets.

  • Current plate and glass cabinet – most of the pantry, including spices and baking  supplies.  The rest of the pantry items (such as unopened flours, sugars, excess canned goods) will go in the white cabinet under the microwave, and some of the more aesthetically pleasing items (such as jars of beans, popcorn, etc.) will go on the black shelf behind the microwave.
  • Current pantry – plates and glasses or serving pieces
  • Armoire – plates and glasses or serving pieces
  • Current baking cabinet – baking apparati (stoneware, pie plates, tart pans, etc.) and food storage items.
  • Coffee nook upper cabinet – still with mugs but hopefully clearing out enough space to hold the tea and packaged coffee stash.
  • Staying the same but maybe getting a cleaning out – lower cabinets under the coffee nook and Theodore and all the drawers.

2.  CLEAN.  Leave no inch unwashed.  This applies doubly to the refrigerator (which is currently so gross that it might actually require a double cleaning).

3. Get rid of things that I don’t really use and don’t really want. I expect that this will be a big pile.  I expect that this will be exciting and that the telling of it will involve many exclamation points.

That’s the plan this week.  Tune in next weekend for the exciting recap!

 

Posted in Getting It Together | 1 Comment »

Welcome – Week Three Results

June 2, 2014 by Suzanne

This week, I thought for sure that my CD collection was going to be the death of me.

photo 2

There it is, hiding behind pictures in those orange boxes and in the nice, sleek black boxes.  It looks so small and innocent.

But oh, the humanity!

First, it took two hours – two! – just to alphabetize them.  I sat on my hard floor for two and a half episodes of Buffy. When I got up, my knee did that old-woman crack thing.  I’m pretty sure that’s why my knee was puffy and numb for the next few days.

Then my puffy knee and I went traipsing all about Denton looking for three more boxes to house the CD collection and give it some room to grow.  Easy, right?  No big deal.  Just go to the store and get boxes.

*blinks*

An epic quest featuring Target, Anna’s Linens, every thrift store in town, every dollar store and variations thereof in town, Tuesday Morning, Hobby Lobby, Big Lots, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond ended in failure.  Yes, even Hobby Lobby – the land of ten thousand boxes – was a disappointment. Every box that was short enough was too wide for the shelf.  Every box that was thin enough was too short for the shelf. The one box  – ONE! – that I found that fit my size parameters was made of wood, had a weird glass top that would have made placing anything on top of it impossible, and cost $30.  No, thank you. Apparently, people don’t like to put CDs in boxes and cover them with a lid, because no store in town sells such a thing.  To me, covering them up with a lid seems like the whole point of putting them in a box to begin with, but I am clearly in the minority.

This quest took three and a half hours.  Puffy knee was not amused.

I came home and found exactly what I needed on Amazon.  At that moment, I didn’t care about Amazon allegedly ruining the publishing industry (I tried to find an article to share with you just now that explains what I mean by that, but I’m just too tired from organizing all those damn CDs to deal with other people’s rants.  I encourage you to Google it, though. And do try to shop locally.  /public service announcement). I immediately ordered three of those bad boys.  I ordered them Friday evening, and I received them today.  It took two minutes, and it saved me from having to take a trip to IKEA (where I bought the orange ones), a trip which would have inevitably happened during rush hour or – worse – on a Saturday, after which I cannot promise that I would not have committed a terrible crime if said trip ended up being fruitless, too.  Amazon saves lives, y’all.

Trying to organize CDs took up almost all the time I had for the entryway this week.  Trying to organize CDs is the reason that I did not get the following things done:

  • Organizing inbox/outbox
  • Putting up pictures by the mirror
  • Fixing the door/arranging a time to have door fixed
  • Finding a non-trashy way to block the breeze where the sad door falls short
  • Washing the carpet dots
  • Mounting the coat rack
  • Decluttering the under-table area
  • Buying an cabinet for bar supplies
  • Deep-cleaning the floorboards and moving furniture to vacuum under/behind it

I’m going to try to incorporate some of these tasks in the weeks ahead if I finish those weeks early.  So I am not giving up on those tasks.

But let’s not focus on that.  Let’s focus on what I DID get done:

photo 1

  • Took out the trash instead of piling it by the door
  • Put the crock pot up where it belongs
  • Moved the random rod from the corner by the door and move the mirrored name thing from the corner between the entry table and the shelf

photo 3

  • Cleared off the entryway table a little.  Took things back to the library.
  • Reorganized the shelf, which included putting all the DVDs and videos in the cabinet under the television, finding a shelf to make the espresso cup display multi-level (and super cute), adding fresh flowers and the random jars of wine corks I have hanging around, moving some of the things from the writing nook shelf so that there’s more room for books there…
  • AND I ORGANIZED THE CD COLLECTION.

All in all, it was a somewhat successful (albeit frustrating) week.

Tomorrow will bring the introductory post for the kitchen.  Lord, have mercy.

Posted in Getting It Together | 1 Comment »

What I’m Into – May 2014

May 31, 2014 by Suzanne

I love this May.  May is usually crazy and full of transition.  And this one was, too, to an extent.  But the weather has been unseasonably cool and gorgeous:

sky

And my day job is Summer Housing (i.e., working with college students) instead of Summer Conferences (i.e., working with minors…who…I’m sure it’s different when they’re your own…but working with other people’s children makes me never want to find out).  So I had a fantastic May and a fantastic start to summer.

photo (6)

How May makes me feel. This cat understands me.

Here’s what I’m into this month:

To write:

I started my Getting it Together series on the blog.  I am enjoying the food.  I am tolerating the cleaning.  My entryway is giving me fits.  I hope the rest of the rooms aren’t this much of a struggle.

My favorite post that I wrote this month was Badger. It was good to talk about it, and I think I was fair enough.  It’s hard to be fair when you’re telling your side of the story.

To read:

Summer (and perhaps my Getting It Together project) have me dreaming up food ideas and being drawn to ideas that others have dreamed up.  So I read cookbooks and foodie memoirs and foodie fiction even more than usual.

There are not many books that I read and then need to go immediately and buy because I can’t stand the thought of being without it.  A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg is one such book.  This is my favorite book that I’ve read this year. It’s a treasure.  And arugula salad with dark chocolate bits?  Pretty much the best idea ever.

I also read Keepers by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion.  Most of the book is meat-intensive, which I am not, but I will end up buying it for the sauces alone. I’m a sucker for a sauce.

To watch:

I have continued my obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I will probably end up buying it by the end of the summer.  Such great characters.  Such amazing one-liners.

I have also watched Chocolat four times.  Because chocolate.  And France.  And Johnny Depp. I will probably watch it four more times before I return it to the library.  Because I checked out the book, so I’ll need to watch it again after I finish the book.  NEED.

To hear:

I’ve been writing and scheduling posts for What Not to Say, so I’ve been listening to my WNTS station on Spotify. Maybe not safe for work, depending on your workplace.

To eat:

May has been DELICIOUS.  As part of my Getting It Together series, I’m going through some of Mom’s recipes, so May has tasted like my childhood.  There was cavatini (which is basically pasta, sauce, ground beef, pepperoni, and cheese, all in one glorious dish), chicken salad, and sausage balls. I’ve also made a couple of loaves of beer bread, which makes fantastic toast for breakfast. Food at my house has been so good that I haven’t even wanted to go out, which is unusual for me, but it was a nice change.

 

We’re gathering at Leigh Kramer’s blog to talk about what we’re into – join us!

Posted in Books, Food, Getting It Together, What I'm Into, Work, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Blog Tour

May 31, 2014 by Suzanne

It’s the day after I created my writer page on Facebook, so this is a good time for a blog tour!  I was tagged*cough*forever ago*cough* by Andi Cumbo-Floyd, the mastermind behind Andilit.  She leads our Online Writing Community and lives and works, along with her husband Philip, on God’s Whisper Farm (look at the goats!!!).  She also wrote a fantastic book called The Slaves Have Names that everyone should buy and read.

photo (5)

One day, and already 51 likes.  I feel like Sally Field:

Anyway…on to the tour…

Upon what are you working?

I have two major projects going right now, and I hope to have the manuscripts for both completed by the end of the year.

The first is a work of fiction called Fishbowl.  Fishbowl was a NaNoWriMo project from a few years ago that was meant to just be a novella or a series of short stories.  Then I fell in love with the main characters and couldn’t stop writing about them.  I still can’t stop.  I have most of the chapters mapped out (which is unusual for me – I’m a big ol’ pantser), and I should have at least a full first draft finished by late September.

The second is What Not to Say.  It started as a series of rants when I was blogging on livejournal, and it has taken on a life of its own.  Now it has its own blog, and I am hoping to eventually make it a community project, because my single life experience, vast as it might be, is still only one person’s experience, and there’s a lot more to say out there than what I can say.  It might be a really big book.  Maybe with several volumes.

I also have a couple of exciting things going on in this blog space, as well as another one on the horizon.

This summer, I have taken on a project called Getting It Together.  I want to take advantage of the extra time I have with my lighter work schedule and get into some good habits, like cooking regularly (instead of driving through Whataburger five times a week) and keeping the apartment clean and organized (so that I can have company over without having to devote the entire day prior to the event feverishly making it presentable).  I am on Week Three.  It’s been both easier and harder than I imagined it would be.

I love good coffee – this surprises no one.  I also love road trips.  I don’t always get good coffee when I go on road trips, though.  So I’m in cahoots with my good friend Stefanie from Coffee2Conversation to remedy this situation.  We are both hosting a Coffee Shop Road Trip Series, so if you have a great local shop that you would love to highlight, send me a submission (your own blog space not required)!  In September, I will be launching a similar series on restaurant/bars, because I love supporting local places, even when I’m traveling.

How does your work differ from others in the genre?

I’m not sure yet where Fishbowl fits into the general fiction genre. The main character is telling the story after his death, so I guess that’s unusual.  I am fighting the urge to insert my own musings about what happens after one dies into it and trying to let Bob just figure it out as he goes. I think that makes the story stronger than it would be if I were trying to Get A Point Across.  Marketing for the book will probably include a disclaimer and reminder that this is a work of fiction, so do not email me if Bob’s experience doesn’t fit your personal beliefs or philosophy. I’m very protective of Bob, and I am likely to respond accordingly.  Also…fiction.

What Not To Say is different from what I’ve read in the rant/advice genre in that there is hope infused into the angst. It’s not a you’re-a-terrible-person/friend-and-this-is-why manifesto.  Its purpose is to mend bridges rather than burn them. There’s a fine line between confrontation and condemnation, so I am being quite needy with my editors to make sure I stay on the confrontation side.

Why do you write what you write?

This blog is a place for me to use my own voice.  I think it’s important to have a space to do that whenever one is writing fiction.  It makes it easier to compare the two to see if it’s really my characters talking (good)  or if I’m just using them to channel my own voice (not good). I will tell personal stories occasionally or respond to something going on in the news or on the Internet (although my mulling process usually takes so long it’s not really news anymore by the time I write about it).  But mostly, I’m talking about my everyday life.  I also participate in link-ups and synchroblogs, because one of my favorite things about blogging is the potential to interact with others in the blogosphere.

I write fiction because I love reading fiction.  My most precious dream is that someday I will meet someone who tells me that Fishbowl is their favorite book.  Okay, I’ll settle for being ONE of their favorites (but if we’re being real here – I really want to be THE favorite).

I write What Not to Say because of the time-honored advice to write what you know. I know being single.  I know it way more than I would like to know it.  I have things to say about it, and I want to hear what others from all levels of single experience have to say about it.

How does your writing process work?

I have to write every day, or I fall out of the habit.  And then it’s a month later, and my works in progress are no longer than they were the previous month.  I try to write for at least an hour a day.  For a while, I tried to get up an hour early and write, but those hours started to look like a sad girl clutching a coffee cup and staring hopelessly into a blank screen with the cursor blinking mockery at her. Morning person, I am not.

So now I write in the evening.  Most days, writing starts around 8:00 p.m., after I have had time to get home, eat supper, and take care of all the things that I “need” to do and that I would use as an excuse not to write.  On teaching nights or nights when I have plans with friends, however, writing starts closer to 10:30 p.m. It makes for a late bedtime, but I’m willing to miss sleep for my craft. And really, I’m a night owl, so I don’t usually fall asleep before midnight anyway, whether I’m writing or not.  Might as well be writing.

I write quickly, but I edit slowly.  So I can churn out a first draft as fast as lightning.  Then it will be a week before I’m satisfied enough with it to let anyone else see it.  Editors are usually seeing – at minimum – a third draft.

 

Now the way this is supposed to work is that I am to tag other bloggers.  But it took me so long to do it, I’m pretty sure most of them have already answered these questions.  And some of them might not want to.  So no pressure – just free press – but feel free to answer these questions if you want and comment with the link to your post.  And go read Michelle Woodman, JoAnne Silvia, Jennifer Seay, Sharry Miller, and Stefanie Goodman.

Posted in Andilit, Coffee Shop Road Trip, Getting It Together, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Inspire News Café, Las Vegas – Guest Post from Jennifer Seay

May 30, 2014 by Suzanne

On this week’s installment of the Coffee Shop Road Trip, Jennifer Seay is back with another reason I need to visit Las Vegas – Inspire News Café.  And basically the whole downtown area.  I am ecstatic to include a post that touches on my favorite things – coffee, tea, books, and shoes (or at least a company that sells shoes).  Enjoy!

Something about the day said “Get up! Get out!” So, I did. And, while that may or may not have been a mistake, here I am. Back when Suzanne first posted about the Coffee Shop Road Trip there were two spaces that came to mind. The first was within ten minutes of my house. The second was Inspire – which is where I am now.

Downtown Las Vegas was just about the last place I ever would’ve thought of to put a coffee house, but that was a little over a year ago before Tony Hsieh (all of those letters phonetically form “Shay”) decided to make downtown his project – aptly named the Downtown Project. See, Mr. Hsieh is one of the creators and the CEO of Zappos and if you don’t know what that is – you haven’t been shopping for shoes on the intertubez. So, long story short – he has more money than … someone with a lot of money … and he’s actually giving back to his community. How … revolutionary!

Inspire News Cafe

Inspire was made possible by the Downtown Project – as many things have been since Mr. Hsieh came to town – and the coffee itself may be forgettable (It’s Illy coffee) but the space is great and there is plenty of character to go around. My 16 oz cup of Earl Grey tea cost $3.00 and there are no foodstuffs for purchase, but here at Inspire it really does seem to be about the environment. There are magazines – local magazines – lining the walls. There are national magazines, too, but I was impressed by how many local publications there are. A free wi-fi passcode came with my tea which allowed me to be interrupted by a rather disturbing request from a friend – disturbing in that it was non-specific which usually means I’m about to let myself get railroaded, but that’s a personal problem…

Off to one side is something that looks like a Xerox and, in fact, it is, but it is so much more than a photocopier. This machine is the Espresso Book Machine. It will print and bind your book (or any book in their catalog, which includes anything in Project Gutenberg, among other things) in minutes… as an aspiring writer this machine has a huge hold on me. I want to give them my file and watch it become a reality, but I know I have lots of editing to do – I’m mired in editing right now. And avoidance of said editing, but again – personal problem!

There are lots of choices for seating including a wooden, theatre style, tiered area with pillows to use. I sat at a table in the corner that had a bench seat on the wall and a chair across the table. There were also couches in the center that were occupied on and off by people having discussions – probably of business related to downtown…

Along with anything in downtown Las Vegas comes the local wildlife – in this case a gentleman on the street yelling about how much he hated Chicago, he was quite creative with the way he interspersed colorful metaphors into his tirade. Few people in the shop took much notice, so this must be a semi-regular occurrence.  Also – parking – it is on street and you have to pay, but it’s not bad at all. $1.00 per hour with a two-hour time limit.

While you’re here I highly recommend the Container Park, which is a mall built out of shipping containers – the metal shipping containers used by companies to move freight whether by road, rail, or water. All of the businesses in the Container Park are local, small business start-ups. Most of them are heavily subsidized by the Downtown Project – at least to get started and then as they grow they become more independent. It is just a couple of blocks away on Fremont Street.

This wasn’t meant to become a love letter to Tony Hsieh, but the man certainly deserves a really big cookie for everything he’s done for downtown Las Vegas. If he aspired to be mayor, I’d vote for him.

As for Inspire – the hook here is the environment, not the coffee. I enjoyed it. I’d come back again if I were in downtown. Is it worth a special trip to downtown? For me, yes – at least this once, but I’m a ‘satisfy my curiosity’ kind of person. Is it worth it to get a taxi from the Strip? Hmmm… probably not, unless you want to check out that cool book-bindery Xerox machine thingy. Is it worth it to stop in if you’re already checking out the Fremont Street scene? Yes. Absolutely.

 

Where: Inspire News Café, 501 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Phone:  (702) 910-2388

Location: The Southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street

Parking: Street. Pay the meter. The meters take coins or credit cards.

Hours: Monday – Saturday 9am to 7pm for the Café and 10 am to 7pm for the Book Machine

 

Jennifer grew up in the southeastern United States eating dirt and drinking goat’s milk. She wrote her first story when she was six years old titled “The Cats in the Carillon.” It was approximately 200 words and had three sequels. Her current piece is approximately 100,000 words and the main character is not a cat. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and two furry editors. She burbles about her book, cats, and life at mercurialforte.wordpress.com.

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