December 23, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Free Your Mind – And the Rest Will Follow

walking with butterfliesJust another little reminder that working for yourself can be sooooooo worth it.

I had lunch this week with two former co-workers. Of the three of us, only one is still working in the office I most recently left.

Chatting with her once again reinforced that I made the right choice in leaving full time employment to make my own way.

Before I get any further, please understand that walking away from full time and benefits in this Michigan economy is not usually a good idea. I only did it because the job was taking a larger toll on my physical, mental and emotional health than the paycheck was worth. We were no where near a balance. Also, I knew I could make some cash right away working as a freelance writer.

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December 21, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Holiday Nomming

monkey bread

Someday this will end – I’ll get my head on straight after the holidays, before the baby comes, and I’ll write a Wednesday post that doesn’t rely on links and other people’s recipes.

This is not that day.

And in truth, food is at the forefront of my mind anyway, so I might as well share my thoughts with you.

First up, custard nog. I usually buy eggnog around this time of year, but as my husband is a big fan of custard, I decided to try the “Colonial Style” custard nog they have at Meijer. It’s a bit thicker and sweeter then egg nog, and caused my boy to go through almost a whole carton in two nights:

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December 19, 2011 · 1:00 pm

New Eats and Old Friends

Bartertown restaraunt logoYesterday I met up with some old friends for an afternoon of lunching and sipping.

First of all, it’s always nice to reconnect with the folks who knew you when you were 20 and stupid during the holiday season. Lately I’ve been feeling a little too grown up, and although incubation circumstances keep me from getting crazy, just being around the people who knew me back when can reinvigorate some of that youthful sensibility.

Also lovely was the fact that it was sunny, snowless and over 40 degrees.

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December 16, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Short Short: Olive, Oliver and Olivia

creepy triplets dollOlive, Oliver and Olivia were triplets. Aside from their well-shaped names, there was nothing balanced about them.

Olive was the oldest of the three, and only had one leg. She was also missing two fingers on her left hand.

Oliver, the middle triplet, was said to be her counterpart with extra digits on each hand and extremely long limbs.

Olivia was the graced child, the “normal” one, the baby bear – not too big, not too small and just the right number of appendages. Of course, the fact that she had only one eye and an extra nostril detracted a bit from her apparent perfection.

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December 14, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Cold Weather Battle Tips

smiley face and sad facesAlright, it’s happened again… cheating with links.

I’m hoping the places I send you this time will prove useful in your home and daily life. Everything I put in this post has been very helpful for me as far as eating well and staying comfortable, happy and entertained during the winter season.

*Note: Nothing is better than staying connected with the people that make you feel good. Maintain your positive friend and family connections this season, no matter how much you have to fight the chaos and snow. Well, well worth it.

Eat

You’ve got to eat heartily when the weather gets nasty. This first link is to a recipe I used earlier in the week. We added garlic, peas and carrots to this and ate it with bulger seasoned with Greek seasoning, garlic, minced onion, turmeric and Parmesan cheese. I put balsamic vinegar on mine as well:

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December 12, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Stop 31: Bang Bang Shrimp, Free Creme Brulee and NA Beer

birthday dessert

Saturday was my birthday.

There’s no better way to celebrate than eating, I think. I also decided to do nothing practical with my computer.

My husband presented me with a gift of 12 red roses and yoga socks shortly after midnight. Hours later, after we got up for the day, he made me a big veggie omelet. Not once did he complain about the bowl of cucumber slices soaking in apple cider vinegar in the fridge. I know this was a particular challenge for him.

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December 9, 2011 · 1:00 pm

I Gots Biiiiills!

frelance writing from home

Dearest freelancing lifestyle, I yet have so much to learn about you.

One of the things we give up when we leave employee status is the guarantee of a regular paycheck. Presumably, our gigs and a staggered pay schedule will fill in the gaps.

Of course, this assumes that people pay you for work within a two week period. But as I have learned, if there is no contracted pay plan, it might take folks a while longer to get that check in the mail.

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December 7, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Creamed Tex-Mex Soup

cream soup in bowlI’ve finally tried my hand at cream based soups.

This happy event only came about because I’ve been on a bit of a pumpkin pie kick, and insist on making my own organic cinnamon whipped cream to go with it. The only thing to do with the leftover cream was my favorite fall food – soup.

The first time I made a basic corn chowder, which was good but not very original.

The second time I had items to use up, namely kale and prepared black beans. I decided to go with a Mexican (Tex-Mex?) feel, and ended up with a sort of vegetarian white chili. Can you say Haphazard Recipe?

Warning: When making soup I never measure; it’s all by feel. This is the basic recipe:

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December 5, 2011 · 1:00 pm

“Don We Now” the Holiday Game Face

humand head on figurine

I certainly do my share of holiday grinching. I make it no secret that this time of year drives me a little bit crazy, what with the get together scheduling, making sure to see those home for a few days, traveling to visit relatives and spending a ton of money.

Don’t get me wrong – I love holidays and celebrations and time with friends and family. It just feels like we have to squeeze these very important things in because the rest of the world wants us to ultimately remain working drones and mindless consumers.

Ideally, we’d all get a week off in which to visit, cook, eat, exchange modest but meaningful gifts and celebrate the various religious, cultural and seasonal aspects that we hold dear. But we don’t. Those of us who live in the winter clime must bundle up and accept the mayhem.

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December 2, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Gnome Story Snippets

close up garden gnomeI like gnomes. Hence the delight I took in this year’s Halloween costumes.

A number of years ago, I tried several times to incorporate gnomes into stories I was working on for classes. It never worked out.

But, as I never get rid of things I’ve written (you never know), I recently came across a few snippets of what look to be portions of a story about a young, somewhat outcast gnome. They amused me, and so I share them with you here, with a little bit of polishing:

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