Bummed

God help me to get done what I need to get done.  I'm in a funk.

Nostalgia'd

Just hit with a ton of nostalgia as I sit here at my desk sorting through old CDs and ripping them to my computer.  I found two CDs that my best friend Mike put together for me; one is over ten years old and from high school.  Rockin' out to the first song on the other one right now, Fiddler on the Green.  Late night music and crafting - I need this from time to time.

"Wasn't there a dream last night
Like a spring never ending
Still the water runs clear
Through my mind
On the field I can see a fiddler
The fiddler on the green and the sad boy
I took him too early
Would you mind
Would you mind
Would you mind
If I take you?"

Good song! 

Looking to make some changes here soon.  I'm currently job-hunting while also working on my Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrankyCatCrafter) and Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/meparmerter).  I would love to be able to support myself with my art and crafts, but I know not to quit my day job just yet.  Maybe one day...? 

I'm also doing physical therapy to help with degenerative arthritis in my spine and a rotated hip.  Luckily, the PT is going well and I'm feeling a heck of a lot better than I did a month ago.  Still have pain most every day, but it's not the debilitating pain I had for a while. 

Okay, I could sit here and type/jibber jab all evening, but I need to get some stuff done!  I'm getting a bowl of cereal to keep up my crafting strength. 

Please check out my sites, folks, and have a good night!

Until next time,

- Meg

Determined

It's hard to believe that Easter is nearly upon us.  Where is this year going?  It's rushing by in quite the hurry.  It seems like all my time is spent at work or at church or at home.  At work, I try to do a lot, but am told it's never enough.  Not in so many words, but the implication is there.  At church, I'm just trying to figure out my niche, figure out where I can be of the most use (not children's ministry).  And at home, I'm trying to not waste my time.  That's hard when you come home tired and worn down.  When all you want to do is rest, it's very hard to talk yourself out of playing WoW all day on your day off of the week.  But I've been trying.

The reason why is, damn it, I want to be published.  I am making writing my second job with the goal of it being my first job someday in mind.  I'm not quitting my day job - not yet - but I can't let the weariness of that job slow down my desire to be a writer.  I bought a copy of Writer's Market for short stories and novels.  I know you I can send my work to.  Now I just need to work, and work hard. 

I've been writing every day in my journal for the past month and a half.  It's scribblings, notes, observations, ideas.  There are nuggets of stories to be found in these pages, and I'm working to complete one before the end of the month.  I have a literary journal I want to send it to.  Even as I type it up and think about the editing to come, I'm setting myself up to be rejected...but not to be bothered by it.  All writers get rejected, usually quite a few times, before someone finally takes a gamble and decides to accept their work. 

I truly believe that I have a talent for writing and drawing.  Neither talent does me any good, however, if I don't nurture them and work at them.  I'm focusing on the former for now, but may return to the latter at some other date.  I also believe that I have been blessed with these gifts for a reason.  I hope and pray God will guide me in my writing endeavors, and I pray for Him to show me what His plans are for me.  I know He has my best interest in mind.

- Meg

Winter Feasting

It's interesting and amusing to think that I used to be an absolute wreck in the kitchen.  Just ask my family.  There are tales of chicken flat pies and dried mustard.  There was a time when cereal and ramen were about the only two dishes I could manage.  Maybe a salad.  Think Charlie Brown in the Peanuts Thanksgiving special.

But time and living independently helped to change that.  I eventually figured out that the use of recipes and ingredients and such could result in pretty tasty creations.  And this past weekend, I think I took on one of my greatest cooking challenges:  preparing a medieval feast.

Okay, when I say feast, I don't mean a seventy-seven course banquet with lords and ladies (though that'd be cool...if someone else cooked it).  But I did pull several recipes from my Game of Thrones cookbook and gave them a try while we had some LARPer friends in town.

I was in the kitchen all day long.  I have to hand it to all the women who, in ages past and present, cook everything from scratch for their families.  That is a whole lot of work and it is exhausting, as I found out Saturday.

Here are some pictures of what we feasted upon:

Leek soup.  My husband said it looked like baby food.  Maybe so, but it tasted fantastic.

Beef and barley stew.  I used homemade beef broth with this one.  Made the house smell amazing.

Those soups were just lunch.  And for dinner:

Quails drowned in butter and stuffed with apples.  And trussed with dental floss.

Crusty white bread.  AMAZING, especially hot out of the oven.

Mixed berry mini tarts in lemon pastry dough.  Major tastiness.

Also served with cheeses, grapes, and a salad.  Oh, and mead.  We were stuffed.

So yeah, I'm happy to say my cooking skills have improved over the years.  Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I won't starve after all. 

In other news, work is picking up a lot.  This is a good thing, but it's also keeping us on our toes and forcing us to adapt pretty quickly.  Easy for some, challenging for others.  

I've written a smattering of words here and there for my stories, and I'm tossing around an idea for a short story.  Mayhaps I will use my day off tomorrow to get something actually written.  But for now?  It's that time.  Time for bed.  Sweet sleep is upon me!

- Meg

 

And it's a balmy -25 degrees today...

We had a relatively calm start to winter last month just before Christmas.  Yes, it snowed but not too heavily.  Still we had a nice white Christmas, made even nicer by a visit from my grandma, my dad, and my older brother.  The hovel was a little crowded with everyone crammed in here, but it was a cozy kind of cramped. 

The new year has been a bit quieter at work.  Restaurants usually have their slow period in January since people are broke after Christmas and many start up new diets and resolutions.  Another factor coming into play is the fact that the weather has taken a turn for the wintry.  REALLY wintry.  We have a storm moving through called a polar vortex, and we're experiencing wind chills taking us, at the moment, down to -28 degrees according to our friends at The Weather Channel.  Word is, we will experience further chilling winds as low as -45 degrees.  Yikes.  I just learned from Kenn that -45 degrees happens to be the temperature at the equator of Hoth.  Fun times.  Now I just need a tauntaun.

I have not made any actual resolutions this year.  Nothing detailed, at least, though I do have aspects of my life that I want to improve upon.  I know one thing that I do, like all of us, is waste that precious commodity known as time.  While taking time to rest and relax is essential, it should not be a constant activity.  I'm not always sitting around - I go to work, I participate at church and in the youth group, I keep up with my house - but all those moments in between can be used to better myself and to help others. 

I haven't pegged down specifics, but this year I do want to read more, write more, walk more, craft more, and pray more.  I'm continuing to grow in my faith and in my marriage, always.

All righty, I need to get off the keyboard.  I have a knight helmet to crochet my husband so his ears don't freeze off.  That's love right there, people.

- Meg

Where'd November go?

Holy crap.  November is nearly over.  Where did this month ago?  It's been a blur since the new store opened.  An absolutely exhausting blur.  I've had to jump into high gear and retrieve a great deal of my old McDonald manager training.  I think we've been blessed with a crew who, by and large, are hard workers with lots of drive and initiative.  Until you're directing a pack of people in a new venture like this, you have no idea how important self-motivation is.  I have found myself biting my tongue and praying a lot this month.  It's only with His help that I'm not flipping out like I used to at McDonald's.

Today was a fairly restful Thanksgiving.  I slept in until nearly 10 a.m., which is crazy compared to my usual 4 a.m. alarm.  We went to the in-laws for an early dinner around 1 p.m. and hung out for a few hours, chatting and watching football.  I've spent the rest of my evening watching my Charlie Brown special, listening to Christmas music, and forcing myself to do some more writing.

Ah, NaNoWriMo.  Will I ever win?  I know I've been insanely busy, but I still feel like I could have reached the 50k goal.  Right now, I'm sitting at 22,673 words.  Not even halfway.  Sheesh.  Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, but I still think I could have managed my time better to get more written.  Still, I'm at least a little proud I got that far considering in past years I didn't even break 5k. 

Our friends Steve and Heather just had their first child last Wednesday, a little girl named Harper.  That's the baby I crocheted those hats for a couple months ago (see my earlier posts for pictures).  She wore the turkey one today and I saw a picture.  She did not look pleased, but she was cute despite her scrunched-up face.  Oh, babies.  Small pink things which I know nothing about.  The only baby I was ever around was my little brother, but I was only two at the time so I don't remember much about him, and I was never around my cousins when they were babies.   It's unknown right now as to whether or not my husband and I will try for kids.  We'll just have to see what the future holds.

I'm looking forward to when the Cakery calms down enough that I can get back to riding at the WLD Ranch and maybe even attending some of my church's women groups.  I'm finding more and more that turning to the Word keeps me going more than anything else right now.  "I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Phil 4:13)."  Just gotta remember that and keep chuggin' along.

- Meg

A new beginning!

Well, folks, we open the new Main Street Cakery Cafe tomorrow morning.  I have to be there at 4:30 a.m. and I won't be out until 10 p.m.  Whoo!  But hey, I'm a dedicated (brand new) store manager, and it all comes with the job. :) 

Okay, I'm going to go pass out now, kids.  Wish me luck and send me prayers!

- Meg