Friday, June 29, 2018
This I know for sure...
It's very hard to see a loved one grieve when there's very little you can do for them. My niece lost a close friend who passed away very suddenly. As she goes through the stages of grief, I am trying to be there for her in any way that she needs even if that means just sitting quietly together doing nothing.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I managed to get about 7 pages written last week after I finally got everything set up, software downloaded etc on the laptop.
Quote of the Week: "Don't fear failure. Fear being in the exact same position next year as you are today." ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I'm not currently reading a book. I'm going to the library today after work with my mom so I'll be starting something this evening.
Random Thoughts: I picked this week's motivational quote to remind me to buckle down and get the revisions/edits for this manuscript finished. I'll be pressed for time this week and next week, especially with the 4th of July holiday next Wednesday, so I really need to focus and work on the book.
Random Photo of the Week:
A thank you card I made for a co-worker.
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I managed to get about 7 pages written last week after I finally got everything set up, software downloaded etc on the laptop.
Quote of the Week: "Don't fear failure. Fear being in the exact same position next year as you are today." ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I'm not currently reading a book. I'm going to the library today after work with my mom so I'll be starting something this evening.
Random Thoughts: I picked this week's motivational quote to remind me to buckle down and get the revisions/edits for this manuscript finished. I'll be pressed for time this week and next week, especially with the 4th of July holiday next Wednesday, so I really need to focus and work on the book.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, June 25, 2018
Summer Time
Now that it's officially summer, I thought I'd share one of my family's favorite summer recipes. We eat a lot of salads, sandwiches, paninis, and the like in the warmer weather. Standing over a hot stove cooking dinner is not one of my favorite things to do when it's 80 or more degrees and the humidity is oppressive. The following recipe is from my mom who was taught how to make it from my grandmother.
German Potato Salad
2 pounds medium sized potatoes
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar (you can use apple cider or white vinegar.)
Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water until fork tender. Drain well and set aside to cool enough to be able to handle. While the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon. Keep 1/2 cup of the bacon drippings/grease.
Peel the cooled potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Cook the onion in the reserved bacon drippings until they are tender. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the water and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Stir in the potatoes. Crumble the bacon on top of the potatoes. Stir well. Cook until everything is heated through, stirring as needed.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
While this salad does need to be cooked, I usually make it early in the morning when it's still relatively cool. When we sit down to dinner, I pop it into the microwave for a few minutes to warm it through.
German Potato Salad
2 pounds medium sized potatoes
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar (you can use apple cider or white vinegar.)
Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water until fork tender. Drain well and set aside to cool enough to be able to handle. While the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon. Keep 1/2 cup of the bacon drippings/grease.
Peel the cooled potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Cook the onion in the reserved bacon drippings until they are tender. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the water and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Stir in the potatoes. Crumble the bacon on top of the potatoes. Stir well. Cook until everything is heated through, stirring as needed.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
While this salad does need to be cooked, I usually make it early in the morning when it's still relatively cool. When we sit down to dinner, I pop it into the microwave for a few minutes to warm it through.
Friday, June 22, 2018
This I know for sure...
I'm probably the only person on the planet who would complain about having to buy a new laptop. Setting up the new laptop and having to install the printer, download all the software I had on my old laptop is a giant pain in the backside.
Right now I'm using the free 30 day trial version of Microsoft Office 365. I was hoping I'd be able to reinstall the 2003 versions of Word and Excel, but unfortunately the software I have for it is on diskettes. Since no newer laptops or desktop computers that I'm aware of have a disk drive, I won't be able to install this version and will have to purchase the current verison of the Microsoft Office suite.
I kept using the 2003 version because I didn't like the idea of having to pay a yearly subscription fee to use Word and Excel when I could use the older version for free. Also I don't have any use for Access, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Publisher. I'm not sure I'd use One Note either. Now I'll have to look into buying the stripped down version that consists of just Word, Excel, and Powerpoint for a one time fee of $149.99.
After having to buy a new laptop, the last thing I want to do is pay $150 more to continue to use Word and Excel. I wish I could find a way to reinstall the 2003 version I already own.
Right now I'm using the free 30 day trial version of Microsoft Office 365. I was hoping I'd be able to reinstall the 2003 versions of Word and Excel, but unfortunately the software I have for it is on diskettes. Since no newer laptops or desktop computers that I'm aware of have a disk drive, I won't be able to install this version and will have to purchase the current verison of the Microsoft Office suite.
I kept using the 2003 version because I didn't like the idea of having to pay a yearly subscription fee to use Word and Excel when I could use the older version for free. Also I don't have any use for Access, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Publisher. I'm not sure I'd use One Note either. Now I'll have to look into buying the stripped down version that consists of just Word, Excel, and Powerpoint for a one time fee of $149.99.
After having to buy a new laptop, the last thing I want to do is pay $150 more to continue to use Word and Excel. I wish I could find a way to reinstall the 2003 version I already own.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I didn't get any writing done last week due to the hard drive in my laptop failing. I was able to go to my sister's and use her laptop for quick, short things like writing posts, but the usual two hours I normally write was out of the question. Now that I have a new laptop, I hope to get some serious writing done to make up for lost time.
Quote of the Week: "One drop of ink is all it takes to cloud a whole glass of water. Doubt is like that ink drop. That's why it's important to build belief in yourself and hold onto your faith in yourself." ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading What Are You Afraid Of? by Alexandra Ivy. This is the second book in the Agency series.
Random Thoughts: I was using the 2003 version of Microsoft Word on my old laptop. It was out of date, but everything pretty much worked the same as the newer versions except everything was done by drop down lists instead of the ribbon option at the top of the screen. Now I may have to upgrade whether I want to or not.
Random Photo of the Week:
This is one of the sunflowers I grew a couple of years ago. I have new sunflower seeds I'm planting this year. I'm hoping they bloom as nicely as these did.
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I didn't get any writing done last week due to the hard drive in my laptop failing. I was able to go to my sister's and use her laptop for quick, short things like writing posts, but the usual two hours I normally write was out of the question. Now that I have a new laptop, I hope to get some serious writing done to make up for lost time.
Quote of the Week: "One drop of ink is all it takes to cloud a whole glass of water. Doubt is like that ink drop. That's why it's important to build belief in yourself and hold onto your faith in yourself." ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading What Are You Afraid Of? by Alexandra Ivy. This is the second book in the Agency series.
Random Thoughts: I was using the 2003 version of Microsoft Word on my old laptop. It was out of date, but everything pretty much worked the same as the newer versions except everything was done by drop down lists instead of the ribbon option at the top of the screen. Now I may have to upgrade whether I want to or not.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, June 18, 2018
Monday
Sorry no post today. I purchased a new laptop on Saturday (see Friday's post) but haven't gotten anything done on it beyond the basic set up. I'm quick typing this note from my phone because I don't have access to my sister's laptop today to do a usual post. (How do people do stuff like this on their phone all the time? I feel like I can't see everything I need to. I don't even like to surf the internet on my phone..I just realized I sound like my mother. 😀)
Friday, June 15, 2018
This I know for sure...
I signed off my laptop on last Friday to turn it off for the night and received the little message that updates needed to be installed so I chose the "install updates and shut down" option. Saturday was crazy busy so I didn't get a chance to get near the laptop that day.
Sunday morning I turned on the laptop and nothing came up except a blue screen. I let it sit there for a bit figuring it was installing and/or configuring the new updates. About 3 hours later, I received a message stating there was a boot error and needed to restart. It automatically restarted and began the process all over again.
My first thought was Oh crap! I'd heard of people having problems after a Windows 10 update. I let it run for about 10 hours total and it restarted itself about 4 times but never got past the message regarding the boot error.
I ended up taking the laptop into a local computer IT place my nephew recommended to have them look at it. The problem wasn't with the Windows 10 update. My hard drive failed and it just happened to be when the updates were trying to install. The IT place offered to install a new hard drive and do a data recovery. I decided against it as the cost would have been close to $400.
So this weekend I'll be out shopping for a new laptop. I can't really complain (except it's one more unplanned expense especially after having to lease a car because the old one was on its last legs) because the laptop was about 8 years old. Thankfully, I was pretty good about keeping everything backed up. I lost all of the favorites I had saved for internet sites and a few documents in my documents folder, but I have copies backed up of everything that's important especially my writing related stuff.
Sunday morning I turned on the laptop and nothing came up except a blue screen. I let it sit there for a bit figuring it was installing and/or configuring the new updates. About 3 hours later, I received a message stating there was a boot error and needed to restart. It automatically restarted and began the process all over again.
My first thought was Oh crap! I'd heard of people having problems after a Windows 10 update. I let it run for about 10 hours total and it restarted itself about 4 times but never got past the message regarding the boot error.
I ended up taking the laptop into a local computer IT place my nephew recommended to have them look at it. The problem wasn't with the Windows 10 update. My hard drive failed and it just happened to be when the updates were trying to install. The IT place offered to install a new hard drive and do a data recovery. I decided against it as the cost would have been close to $400.
So this weekend I'll be out shopping for a new laptop. I can't really complain (except it's one more unplanned expense especially after having to lease a car because the old one was on its last legs) because the laptop was about 8 years old. Thankfully, I was pretty good about keeping everything backed up. I lost all of the favorites I had saved for internet sites and a few documents in my documents folder, but I have copies backed up of everything that's important especially my writing related stuff.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I managed to get seven whole pages written last week. Yes, that is a bit of sarcasm there. I had great plans to get a lot written/revised, but my nephew stopped by unexpectedly one afternoon, my sister stopped by on another, and I had two appointments after work two other days so that, unfortunately, didn't leave a lot of writing time.
Quote of the Week: "To do what you can while you are where you are - that's all you can ask of yourself." ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I'm about halfway through Discovery of Desire by Susanna Lord. The hero is a little different than I'm used to, but I am enjoying the book.
Random Thoughts: Summer always seems to be a busier time of year for me and the end of May and the first part of June are definitely living up to that.
Random Photo of the Week:
Cannoli ice cream
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I managed to get seven whole pages written last week. Yes, that is a bit of sarcasm there. I had great plans to get a lot written/revised, but my nephew stopped by unexpectedly one afternoon, my sister stopped by on another, and I had two appointments after work two other days so that, unfortunately, didn't leave a lot of writing time.
Quote of the Week: "To do what you can while you are where you are - that's all you can ask of yourself." ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I'm about halfway through Discovery of Desire by Susanna Lord. The hero is a little different than I'm used to, but I am enjoying the book.
Random Thoughts: Summer always seems to be a busier time of year for me and the end of May and the first part of June are definitely living up to that.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, June 11, 2018
Nutella Cookies, Oh My
I love Nutella and always have a jar in the cupboard right next to the peanut butter. I eat it on toast, drizzle it on ice cream, eat it on a sandwich with peanut butter instead of jelly, and of course, eat it plain by the spoonful.
A friend and I were talking about our one unhealthy food thing we always have on hand. Mine, of course, was Nutella. She told me about a recipe her sister found online called Nutella Lava Cookie Cups. I asked her to have her sister send me the recipe. Instead of the recipe, she sent the link to the blog where the recipe is posted. She didn't want to take credit away from the person who originally posted the recipe. I agree.
The recipe can be found on the Table For Two blog. Here's the link - Nutella Lava Cookie Cups Recipe The recipe itself is near the bottom of the post, but there are some mouthwatering photos of the cookies you have to scroll past to get to the recipe that are worth it. I haven't made the cookies yet, but plan on doing so soon. If you make them, please leave me a comment on how they turned out and what you thought of them.
A friend and I were talking about our one unhealthy food thing we always have on hand. Mine, of course, was Nutella. She told me about a recipe her sister found online called Nutella Lava Cookie Cups. I asked her to have her sister send me the recipe. Instead of the recipe, she sent the link to the blog where the recipe is posted. She didn't want to take credit away from the person who originally posted the recipe. I agree.
The recipe can be found on the Table For Two blog. Here's the link - Nutella Lava Cookie Cups Recipe The recipe itself is near the bottom of the post, but there are some mouthwatering photos of the cookies you have to scroll past to get to the recipe that are worth it. I haven't made the cookies yet, but plan on doing so soon. If you make them, please leave me a comment on how they turned out and what you thought of them.
Friday, June 8, 2018
This I know for sure...
I attended a memorial service for my aunt's mother last Sunday. It was a very beautiful and touching service. I think it was more touching than other memorial services I've attended in the past because the main pastor knew the deceased personally. He included many personal stories and remembrances as he spoke. The stories made us laugh, shake our heads in agreement, and of course, wipe away a tear or two.
Other memorial services I've attended in the past seemed as though the pastor, father, or other person of the church who gave the memorial used a generic speech and just inserted the deceased person's name in where necessary. Some of have even mispronounced the deceased person's name.
Other memorial services I've attended in the past seemed as though the pastor, father, or other person of the church who gave the memorial used a generic speech and just inserted the deceased person's name in where necessary. Some of have even mispronounced the deceased person's name.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I didn't get a single word written or revised last week. I had hoped to get back on track last week, but ended up with unexpected errands and relatives from out of town visiting from out of town. I'm working hard to get back on track this week.
Mrs. Green likes to sleep in the laundry basket with or without laundry in it.
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I didn't get a single word written or revised last week. I had hoped to get back on track last week, but ended up with unexpected errands and relatives from out of town visiting from out of town. I'm working hard to get back on track this week.
Quote of the Week: “The only limits we have in life are those we set
ourselves.” ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I hope to finish Call to Honor by Tawny Weber tonight or by Thursday night. I've been really busy lately without much time to read.
Random Thoughts: I've planted my apple and sunflower seeds. I'm starting them in little starter pots. Once the sunflowers are tall enough, I'm thinking of planting them into the garden in my front yard. Any apple seeds that actually grow are going to stay in a pot and I'll move them to larger pots as necessary until any grow too large to be in a pot.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, June 4, 2018
Self-Publish or Not?
I joined an online writing group a few weeks ago. I haven't really participated, just lurked reading other members' posts and learning. The group seems to be really supportive of each other regardless of what you write. Fiction, non-fiction, if you ghost write for someone else or if you write for yourself, what genre you write in, none of that matters. If you have a question about pretty much anything writing, research, or promotional related, odds are someone will have an answer or point you in the right direction to find what you're looking for.
The majority of the group are self-published authors. While I haven't been leaning that way myself, all the posts make me wonder if I shouldn't give it a try. I have two books that I can get my rights back on and could then tweak them a bit and publish them myself.
What's holding me back is that I know next to nothing about the mechanics of self-publishing. I have no idea how to format the manuscript, how to upload it to the various platforms such as Amazon, IBooks, Kobo and all the rest. I would also have to have new covers made for both books because the covers are owned by my publisher. While I could probably do the covers myself, I don't want them to look amateurish and turn off any potential readers. I know there's the old saying about not judging a book by its cover, but I think we all do it to a certain extent.
I'm certain I could learn how to format the manuscript, upload it, and all that entails, but I don't know if I have the time. I'd have to take time away from writing and goodness knows, it's taking me forever, and I do mean forever, to get my current work in process into publishable shape, that I really don't want to sacrifice the time to learn how to self-publish right now. There is the option of hiring someone (or a company) to format everything, make new covers, and get the book up for purchase on all the different platforms, but I don't think my budget can withstand the costs especially now that I had to lease a car as the old one was on its last legs needing over $1,000 in repairs and probably was only worth that much.
So while I'm working away at getting my current manuscript in tip top shape, I'll think I'll shelve the idea of self-publishing for a while. Meanwhile, I'll continue to lurk (or maybe even participate) in the writer's group and keep learning what I can about the process.
The majority of the group are self-published authors. While I haven't been leaning that way myself, all the posts make me wonder if I shouldn't give it a try. I have two books that I can get my rights back on and could then tweak them a bit and publish them myself.
What's holding me back is that I know next to nothing about the mechanics of self-publishing. I have no idea how to format the manuscript, how to upload it to the various platforms such as Amazon, IBooks, Kobo and all the rest. I would also have to have new covers made for both books because the covers are owned by my publisher. While I could probably do the covers myself, I don't want them to look amateurish and turn off any potential readers. I know there's the old saying about not judging a book by its cover, but I think we all do it to a certain extent.
I'm certain I could learn how to format the manuscript, upload it, and all that entails, but I don't know if I have the time. I'd have to take time away from writing and goodness knows, it's taking me forever, and I do mean forever, to get my current work in process into publishable shape, that I really don't want to sacrifice the time to learn how to self-publish right now. There is the option of hiring someone (or a company) to format everything, make new covers, and get the book up for purchase on all the different platforms, but I don't think my budget can withstand the costs especially now that I had to lease a car as the old one was on its last legs needing over $1,000 in repairs and probably was only worth that much.
So while I'm working away at getting my current manuscript in tip top shape, I'll think I'll shelve the idea of self-publishing for a while. Meanwhile, I'll continue to lurk (or maybe even participate) in the writer's group and keep learning what I can about the process.
Friday, June 1, 2018
This I know for sure...
In a few days I'll have been at my current day job for one year. The year has flown by and I like my job just as much today as I did when I first started. I know a year doesn't seem like that long, but wow, what a difference this job has made.
At the previous company I worked for, I had a manager who was verbally abusive. She wasn't just abusive to me, but to everyone and anyone in the company including the company owner. More than once, she called him an expletive who was an idiot who wouldn't be able to run the company without her. She had (has) an explosive temper and you never knew what would set her off. She would even slam her keyboard on the desk if the computer wasn't doing what she wanted it to do or if it was taking longer to follow a command than she thought it should. (It's a small business consisting of 6 employees and one intern while I was there. The owner was in and out of the office daily going on appointments and whatnot so the office manager really set the tone of the office. )
Needless to say, I was stressed out and anxiety ridden because I never knew what kind of mood she would be in or what would set her off. I suffered from insomnia, rarely sleeping more than 3 hours a night, had constant headaches, and hated, hated having to walk into that office and deal with her on a daily basis. I finally decided that despite the great pay and really short commute, I needed to find another position. My health wasn't worth it.
I have a much longer commute and make a tiny bit less than I was, but I'm so much happier. I have no job related stress to speak of. I have friendly co-workers and everyone is great to work with. And no one has temper tantrums. Now I sleep through the night, have only the rare headache now and then, and haven't felt anxious since I walked out of that old office on my last day and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
At the previous company I worked for, I had a manager who was verbally abusive. She wasn't just abusive to me, but to everyone and anyone in the company including the company owner. More than once, she called him an expletive who was an idiot who wouldn't be able to run the company without her. She had (has) an explosive temper and you never knew what would set her off. She would even slam her keyboard on the desk if the computer wasn't doing what she wanted it to do or if it was taking longer to follow a command than she thought it should. (It's a small business consisting of 6 employees and one intern while I was there. The owner was in and out of the office daily going on appointments and whatnot so the office manager really set the tone of the office. )
Needless to say, I was stressed out and anxiety ridden because I never knew what kind of mood she would be in or what would set her off. I suffered from insomnia, rarely sleeping more than 3 hours a night, had constant headaches, and hated, hated having to walk into that office and deal with her on a daily basis. I finally decided that despite the great pay and really short commute, I needed to find another position. My health wasn't worth it.
I have a much longer commute and make a tiny bit less than I was, but I'm so much happier. I have no job related stress to speak of. I have friendly co-workers and everyone is great to work with. And no one has temper tantrums. Now I sleep through the night, have only the rare headache now and then, and haven't felt anxious since I walked out of that old office on my last day and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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