On writing and blogs

I've been thinking about this blog lately, and about the fact that I write it. See, the thing is, I don't consider myself a writer. But I write this blog, so that kind of makes me a writer. And, I've even written a first draft of a novel. So that makes me a writer too, doesn't it?    And, thinking back over the course of my life, I've always been a writer. I've always had journals and I've always loved to write. I love crafting the perfect letter or even the perfect email. I love the challenge of expressing myself perfectly using written words and knowing that, even without my facial expressions or tone of voice to rely on, the reader will know just what I mean. And, one of my dreams has always been to publish a novel--ever since I was 11 or 12.   So back to the blog thing. I think I've mentioned before that I read a lot of other blogs. Like 40. Or maybe even 50. Most of them are mommy blogs. Some of the bloggers have sick children, some are regular moms, some are pregnant, some have a bunch of children, some are crafty, some are funny....they really run the gambit. Then there are few blogs I read that are dedicated to one of my favorite tv shows. (It's the Bachelor, ok? Total guilty pleasure.)    I love taking a peek into other people's lives and I really like to study the way other people write. There are a few blogs I read that I am just in awe of. These women write like their souls depend on it and they inspire me so much. There is such beauty in what they write. I've only been writing this blog for a few months, but already these women have had a profound impact on what I write, and how I write it.    I can't force myself to write in a way that isn't comfortable for me. Too cutesy annoys me. Too may fragments annoy me, even it is for stylistic effect. And forget major grammar errors--like nails on a chalkboard for me. And it goes the other way too. Some of these women are so philosophical and can put into words things that I can only feel and could never name. But still, I will glean whatever I can from them and integrate into my writing.   Can anyone out there relate? What's something you do but don't consider yourself a real "do-er" of it?       I'll leave you with this totally unrelated, yet adorable, picture of my baby girl asleep. So peaceful.

Fruit Leather

Ever since we got back from vacation I have NOT been in the mood to cook or bake, which is so unlike me. I usually love cooking. It's relaxing for me and it makes me feel good to put a homemade meal on the table for my family. Not to mention that it's much healthier than eating out all the time.   A few Christmases ago Jon got me a subscription to Cooking Light magazine. I read them each month, take pictures of the recipes I want to try or cut them out, and then I pass the magazines on or toss them.  Last week I was going through my large collection of "recipes to try"-- I was looking for a little inspiration to break me out of my cooking funk. I came across a "recipe" (and I use that word lightly because 1 step and 2 ingredients is hardly a recipe to me) that I've been meaning to try: fruit leather (aka fruit roll ups).   Here's what I did to make the Fruit Leather:   4 cups of berries (I used all blueberries)  2 tablespoons of honey or agave   Puree them in the blender.

    Then spread the mixture out on a parchment lined baking sheet (regular sized)  

(You can use a silpat baking mat too, if you have one)       Bake at 200 for 4 hours, or until the mix is not sticky. (I pulled mine out a bit too early and some stuck to the parchment, as you can see below. I left it out overnight and it hardened up a bit.)     Then cut into strips or squares or however you like it.

      My pictures aren't very pretty, but this sure tastes delcious and was a HUGE hit with Gia. I especially love that there is nothing in it but fruit and honey!

 

What next?

So after a wonderful vacation, of course we couldn't have a nice, calm, normal week back to the grind. Right?

  We got home on  Tuesday evening. Wednesday was hectic because I had to work, foodshop, unpack, etc. Thursday I finally got around to doing some laundry. I went down to the basement, where our laundry room is, and found quite a large puddle on the floor. The hot water heater was leaking--from the top AND the bottom.   We've had this happen once before (in our condo), so thankfully I knew who to call without having to bother Jon at work. By Friday at 11 am we had a new hot water heater and were a bit poorer. We considered ourselves lucky though, because we fixed the problem before we had 40 gallons of water all over our basement.    Fast forward to Monday. We'd been home for nearly a week and I was still playing catch up with the cleaning and the laundry. I ran down to the basement to throw in a quick load of laundry before heading to work. And, what did I find? Another puddle on the floor in the basement. I hadn't even touched the washer yet, so where the heck was this coming from?   My mom arrived to watch Gia & I showed her the problem. She thought something was wrong with the washer--and even though I hadn't yet used it when I saw the water--that it was the culprit. Turns out she was right. So this morning we bought a new washer.   

    But wait. I'm not done.  It's not over.    Before we went on vacation we ordered custom roller shades and a coordinating cornice for the triple window in our family room. They arrived while we were gone and were supposed to be installed yesterday.     You know where I'm going with this, right?   The cornice was 2 inches too long to fit in our window frame. The "home designer," who came over to consult with us and help us pick fabric and do the measuring, messed up the measurements and it doesn't fit. They're making us a new one, but we have to wait 2 more weeks for it to get here.
Sigh.  

This is the look we're going for: custom cornice & roller shades. We chose a striped fabric and cream colored roller shades.

     None of these things is a really big deal. But, all of them together? It's just really frustrating.  Sometimes I hate being a homeowner.