new york, new york

After a too-short trip home to Long Island, I'm back in Texas, back at work, and knee deep in puppy training and trying to keep my apartment at least half way clean. A real challenge, I tell you! But you don't want to hear about my sticky floors and the obscene number of dog toys strewn about the house. You want to hear about New York, Long Island, and my five glorious days on the South Shore, where the weather was perfect and every breeze carried with it the sweet scent of the ocean. And really, who am I to deny you that?

I thought I would have more photos to share with you, but honestly I did not do much during my brief getaway. Saturday was devoted to travel, as it took me nearly 12 hours to get from my door in Texas to my parents' living room on Long Island. Luckily, my middle sister Susan picked me up at the airport, and we took a break from traveling to visit her apartment in Harlem, pet her cat Sammy, and eat at the Loving Hut near Penn Station. A Loving Hut recently opened in Houston but I still haven't had a chance to try it. I can't speak for H-Town's version, but New York City's was downright delicious. And since the opportunities I have to order real live vegan cheese are few and far between, I went for the quesadillas. I was not disappointed.

After gorging myself on my plate and half of Susan's (she took one for the team by agreeing to eat at a vegan restaurant) we stopped at a deli to pick up a six pack before catching our train. It was a 90 minute ride to my parents', which flew by as we caught up and caught a buzz. (And yes, drinking on the train is totally legal. On Friday evenings and baseball game nights, it's practically a requirement.)

Sunday was my grandparents' 80th birthday party, and the main reason I went home. It was the usual fare - rented hall, open bar, sit down dinner, and a DJ who played his keyboard along with a boom box that sprouted an interesting mix of Frank Sinatra (for the 80 year olds) and Lady Gaga (for the rest of us). The highlights of this party included: being fussed over for traveling "all the way from Texas," seeing an elderly woman break the mold by getting her groove on to the Gaga, and as many vodka and cranberry juices as I wanted. (Three. This was a family event, after all.)

Sisterly love. And cupcakes.

Everyone danced in a circle around my grandparents.

Littlest sister Ally and I take glamor shots in the bathroom.

Because the weekend was taken up with traveling and family times, and because all my friends have jobs, I didn't get a chance to see many of my college friends. I was okay with that. This really was a family-focused trip, and dashing off to the city would have left no time with my mom. And because my mom is one of my favorite people in the world, that would have been tragic. (Plus she would have killed me.) So Monday through Wednesday can be summed up quite briefly: a 2.5 mile run along the bay; a trip to the mall with my youngest sister, who understands things like "fashion" and "style;" hanging out with my girlfriends from high school in the evenings; making roasted vegetables on my dad's grill; receiving text message updates from Nathan about how bad the puppy was being, and then how he had a turning point and was suddenly "getting it." (Whew!) All in all, a really relaxing, really low key, and much needed trip home. In other words, perfect.

My dad created this - ahem - still life in the backyard. "20 more buoies," he said, "and I'll be done."

I got home late Wednesday night, slept for a few hours, and then had to be at work the next morning. With the help of a large soy latte at 2pm, I managed to actually have a productive day. After work, Nathan and I took the dogs to the park and had a really wonderful time. The puppy still had a penchant for gnawing on things, and stealing your socks, and nibbling on your fingers, but he is no longer leaping on you teeth first. He also knows the word "NO," hasn't peed in the house in a few days, prefers sleeping in the kitchen at night behind the baby gate (he whines for exactly five minutes before falling asleep until morning - I timed it last night), and he responds to his name. That's right - we finally settled on a name. I will do a big reveal on Sunday's Pupdate (now twice as adorable!) because I like having secrets. I will say that we did not choose any of the names in the poll, which I warned you might happen. Rest assured that it is a good name, and that it suits him perfectly.

I just realized that this is Friday and I didn't do a +/- list. I hope you can forgive me, and that this massive post will suffice. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled blogging on Sunday, which will include pupdates, recipes, training tales, and various adventures. Thanks for sticking around in the interim and have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

vacation, and an award

Hello friends! I'm currently on Long Island, enjoying the much-cooler weather and a blissful lack of humidity while sleeping on my parents' couch and eating too many bagels. In other words, the usual. I've had a pretty good trip so far, but I won't be able to upload any photos until I'm back in Texas. Rather than regal you with picture-less posts (the horror!) I'm going to instead take a little vacation from The New Me. Regular posting will resume next week. In the meantime, enjoy this little blog award bestowed upon me by the lovely Historiadora on the Run, who was kind enough to single me out way back in early July.

In order to accept this award, I have to tell you seven things about myself and then pass this award to five other bloggers, whom I've recently discovered and find fantastic. Easy peasy! First, seven true facts about me.

1. I am not big on liquids. I love water and coffee and those two make up 90% of my liquids intake. This means I do not like juice, smoothies, or soda of any kind. The other 10% of my liquids (sometimes more...) consist of beer and wine. I don't like most cocktails because they are mostly juice or soda. (With the exception of a good gin and tonic.)

2. Despite the fact that I was born and raised on Long Island, and the fact that my immediate and extended family all have killer Long Island accents, I do not. There are a few words and phrases that I say with a hint of the Island, but for most part people are surprised when I tell them where I'm from, and then disappointed that I don't sound more like Snookie from the Jersey Shore.

3. I am afraid I won't love my new puppy as much as I love Seamus. I will adore him and give him the best home possible and spoil him rotten, but Seamus is just so perfect that I don't think any dog - not even the cutest puppy in the world - can measure up. This makes me feel like a bad person.

4. I have a habit of taking on too much and the guilt complex of a reformed Catholic. This is a terrible combination.

5. The older I get, the less I like labels. Once I found them comforting, a clear niche I could tuck myself into. Now, I see so many gray areas that none of those niches seem to fit.

6. Two things I never thought I would say: I love eating brussel sprouts and running marathons.

7. I have a secret wish to be a full time blogger with thousands of readers and comments, a la Pioneer Woman or Dooce. But then, don't we all?

As for fantastic blogs you should definitely be reading, here are five new-ish finds that I love:

Ashley and Stephen at (never)homemaker, for recipes, how-to's and running related nerdery.

The Voracious Vegan, for passionate compassion, gorgeous photography, and vegan buttermilk pie!

Jessica at What I Wore, for inspiring me to wear colors other than brown and green.

Simply Bike, for making cycling look fun and fashionable, and having a smile that lights up the Internet.

And last but not least, a new favorite: Effing the Ineffable, because Kate O is a kindred spirit with sharp wit and blazing honesty.

That's all for now. Enjoy the week and I'll be back before you know it! xoxo

friday +/-

As I'm sure you've noticed, this has been an especially crazy week in the Henneward house! Let's get right to it, shall we?

+ NEW PUPPY! I took him to the vet today and they estimate his age to be about three months. His weight? 25 pounds! Yes, we've got another big boy on our hands, and I couldn't be more pleased. I love big dogs so! Also, he is already getting better about nipping and biting. I have taken to saying "OW!" in a sharp voice when he gets too rough, and if that fails I spray him with some water. The water is very effective, but it also causes him to run from the room in fear so I'm trying not to over do it. :) All in all, our little puppy looks like he'll do just fine with us. Now all he needs is a name! (Speaking of names, our poll will be up for just four days, so vote now!)

- I have not worked out once since we got our puppy on Wednesday. Right now, I feel like his training trumps mine and I'm okay with that. The idea of going for a two hour bike ride, after spending 8-9 hours at work, while our new puppy languishes in a barricaded kitchen, does not seem right. We'll see how settled he is by the end of next week, and then I'll make whatever adjustments I need to my own schedule. This puppy is going to grow up to be a very big dog, and good manners will be vital!

+ I'm going to New York tomorrow! In all the puppy excitement, I nearly forgot about my trip home. My flight leaves early tomorrow morning, and I am so looking forward to seeing my friends, spending time with family, and celebrating my grandparents' 80th birthday party. I am also excited to go for a run on the beach and take 100 photos. I haven't been to Long Island in the summer in over two years, which just seems tragic.

- As glad as I will be to visit home, I'm really sad to leave the puppy behind! I also feel badly about leaving Nathan with two dogs for five days, one of which is not quite housebroken. C'est la vie. This puppy was his idea, so he can't blame me!

+ Yesterday my department went off campus for a retreat, during which time I showed off the four options I designed for our website. I got great feedback and everyone seemed fairly impressed, which was a fantastic feeling. I'm so glad for the chance to learn web design and create something all on my own. Plus, doing my job and doing it well is a good feeling. :)

And that about sums it up! It's a shorter list than usual, but that's what happens when a new puppy eclipses all. I will try to update while I'm in New York, but in the meantime I hope you have a great weekend!

puppy poll!

Even though I've introduced our new puppy to the world as Parker, I am not completely in love with the name. Nathan and I have been going back and forth since the moment we saw him, trying to settle on something that was not too cutesy, but not too weird. Something we wouldn't mind shouting at a dog park, but which would not summon twelve other dogs with the same name. Basically, we want a name that is original, easy to say, doesn't end in a -y sound, and contains a hard consonant. To aid us in this decision, I have created a handy poll, located in the right hand side of my blog, for your voting pleasure. I can't promise that we'll choose the winning name, but I can say that an overwhelming number of votes for any particular choice could tip the scale. While I have a current favorite, I'm going to keep that to myself so as not to influence votes. Also, now that you've seen photos, let me know if you have any additional suggestions we may have overlooked!

I'll be back later with my Friday +/-, though I bet you can guess what the big + of the week will be! ;)

everyone, meet calvin!

Last night, Nathan told me that he had an early birthday present for me. It was something his co-worker had, but didn't want. It was large and would take up a lot of space in our apartment. We could go see it that evening, and if I didn't want it his feelings would not be hurt. It was totally up to me, but he had a feeling that I would love this thing.

Maybe Nathan is bad at surprises, and maybe after eight years we just know each other too well, but right away I knew it was a puppy. As we drove to his co-worker's house, I wondered if I would want this puppy. I love dogs, but I already have the best one in the world. Puppies are very demanding, and require a lot of work, time and energy, and I already feel stretched thin as it is. This was probably a bad idea. I should probably tell Nathan thanks, but no thanks.

You can guess what happened next. Reader, I fell in love. As soon as we walked through the door, he ran towards me, all wriggly body and floppy ears. He squirmed into my arms and then out of them just as fast, too busy playing with the other dog in the room to pause for long. He looked exactly like Seamus did at that age, and he had a Mohawk (he's definitely part Rhodesian Ridgeback, which are one of my favorite breeds.) I didn't stand a chance.

So far, Seamus seems slightly annoyed and a little jealous, which is to be expected. I think that they'll get along fine, eventually. As for the puppy, I'm about 90% sure we're naming him Calvin (even though I was pulling hard for Eugene). He's a handful and a half, spends most his time barking and/or whining, and has a really bad habit of biting everything - shoes, furniture, me. The biting is the most worrisome, as it makes cuddling nearly impossible and cuddling is the best part of puppy-dom! I'm sure we can break him of this habit soon, and that once he stops teething and is properly trained his manners will kick in. Until then, I have a feeling I'll be very busy with extracting my limbs from his tiny mouth, gazing at him in adoration, and making sure Seamus doesn't feel too neglected. Wish me luck, because I will definitely need it!

Oh, and for those of you who thought Calvin's addition to our family was in any way related to our recent note, he is not. But I can't wait for our mystery letter-writer to see the "baby" we ended up with! :)

confession time

I have a confession to make. Are you ready? Okay. Deep breath. Here it comes.

I don't like training for a century bicycle ride.

Man, it feels good to type that. Now for the long winded explanation. When I first decided to do a century ride, my cycling experience was limited to Saturday rides with the Bike Shop, always between 20 and 30 miles, with an occasional 50 miler thrown in there for good measure. Last year, I rode 72 miles in the Pineywoods Purgatory, which was great, mostly because I spent zero time training for the event. I thought 100 miles would be an easy jump, a natural progression. I've been loosely following my training plan, doing a long ride almost every weekend, which will continue to get longer and longer until the Hotter'N'Hell on August 28th. But here is something I've learned, something I will share with you today:

Riding your bike for four, five, six, seven hours, every single Sunday, is starting to get boring.

I love riding my bike. I love the freedom I feel when I fly down the street on my way to work. I love exploring parts of East Texas that I would never even notice from the inside of a car. I love the way my legs look right now - toned and strong, able to cycle up 50 miles of hills without standing up on my pedals. I've come a long way with my riding, and I'm proud of the progress I've made. And then, when I think about how much farther I still have to go - well, that's where the despair sets in. That's when I begin to count up the hours I will be stuck on the back of a bike, and start thinking about all the things I could be doing instead - writing, reading, blogging, baking. I feel like I'm giving up so much of my precious time for this event, and I don't know if what I'm getting back is worth it.

I'm still planning to ride the Hotter'N'Hell, but I can't promise you that I will enjoy it. I will say that training for this event has given me a new appreciation for the time and energy that marathon training demands. When I was running 30 and 40 miles a week, I moaned and groaned about how much time training was taking up, how I was always tired and hungry. But now that I can compare marathon training to century training - well, let's just say that I'm now looking forward to marathon training because of how much less time it will take up, how nice it will be to run for *just* three hours and then be done with my workout for the day. That's definitely a plus!

In the meantime, I still have four weeks until the Hotter'N'Hell, and I have to find a way to stay motivated and keep myself on my bicycle. If you have any words of wisdom or inspiring stories that I can read and think about on those long, long bike rides, please share them in the comments! I need all the help I can get.

not my kind of prophecy

Today, this note was lying in our parking space, in front of our apartment, when Nathan got home from work. We do not know where it came from, who left it, if it's meant as a joke, or if someone is really concerned about how excessively we spoil our dog. What we do know is that Seamus is for sure the closest thing to a child we plan on having and that we would never trade him in for anything! Also, Nacogdoches is weird.

(Whether it's a joke or not, we're taking it as one. The note is currently on our refrigerator, where it will no doubt hang for a very long time!)

weekend adventures

We had another pretty nice weekend, though this one was quite a bit calmer than usual. Which was a good thing - downtime was much needed, and much appreciated!

On Friday, we went out for sushi (so much for not eating out at all last week - at least we made it to Friday!) and then saw Inception. Inception was really, really good! Weird, and smart, and fun, and just plain interesting. I enjoyed it thoroughly, even though Nathan knocked my beer out of my drink holder and onto my lap at a particularly exciting moment. C'est la vie.

Saturday found us waking up early to squeeze in a five mile trail run before we left town for our adventures in Tyler. I had not run the trail in about six months and could definitely feel the difference in terrain. I am looking forward to running the trail more when the weather cools down and this century ride is behind me!

After cleaning and packing, we headed to Tyler, which is about a 90 minute drive from Nacogdoches. Mary T and her husband Matt were having a fancy baby shower at a country club, and while there we got to take advantage of the open bar, hold a variety of adorable babies, and swim in a large pool while employees brought us drinks. It was definitely a lovely and relaxing day.

The MRTs open presents!

Bloody Mary's are my new favorite drink.

This is the vegan lunch the club came up with. Not bad, but basically rice and veggies. Good think I was able to fill up on Bloody Mary's! 

Instead of driving home after the shower, we had decided to spend the night in Tyler State Park, as Nathan had not slept in his hammock in a few months and was having withdrawals. We ended up getting there just as the sun was setting, leaving us just enough time to pitch our hammocks and read by flashlight. We woke up around 7AM and decided it would be nice to relax at home than at the park, so we packed things up and headed out. Shortest camping trip ever, but it is always nice to sleep under the stars. 

Our Sunday also included cleaning out the refrigerator, which makes me as if all is right in the world, and the usual kickball game, which I'm tired of photographing. It also included a new discovery - the Pomodoro Technique. Basically, you set a timer with a ticking sound for 25 minutes (I did 30) and then stay focused and on task until the buzzer goes off. So simple it seems silly, but I tried it while I was writing yesterday and there was something about that ticking sound that made me feel a sense of urgency. When the timer went off, I was still writing, and I kept writing for about another fifteen minutes. I like the Pomodoro Technique, even if I'm just using a kitchen timer.

And that about wraps up my weekend adventures. Before I rush off to work (late... oops...) I leave you with this photo of a bunch of drunk people and Pauly Shore. Enjoy! 

sunday pupdate

While we were baby-showering and camping in Tyler this weekend, Seamus had a sleepover party with Amy and David's three dogs, Henry, Yoshi and Zoe. When we picked him up and brought him home, he promptly climbed onto the couch and passed out. When Seamus parties, he parties hard.

friday +/-

On the one hand, this was one of the longest weeks ever. On the other, I feel like I just wrote last Friday's +/- yesterday. Time is weird.

- I am getting really lazy about biking in the mornings. I'm supposed to do two rides, between 15 and 20 miles, during the week to supplement my century training. For the last two weeks, I did my long rides and spin class, and nothing else! I can blame it on weather and low visibility on the roads, headaches and that time of the month, but mostly I just haven't felt like it. I've been running instead, so it hasn't been a total wash, but still. I need to re-motivate myself, and fast!

- We saw Pauly Shore on Wednesday night. He wasn't really that funny - too many jokes about minories and blow jobs for my taste. (Come on - it's 2010. A bit about how Obama is - gasp! - black is just plain stupid.) That said, my expectations weren't high to begin with, and really - how often does Pauly Shore come to Nacogdoches? Exactly. I need to take advantage of these kinds of things when they happen.

- Because Pauly was less than hysterical, I was forced to make up the difference by drinking excessively. On a Wednesday night. Despite the fact that I am no longer 22 years old. Which means Thursday was less than stellar. Seriously, I get the most ridiculous hangovers now that I'm closing in on my late 20's. Has this happened to anyone else? More than two drinks, and I wake up sluggish and headachey. While I don't exactly miss the days of binge drinking until 4AM and then going to class at 9, my recovery time was downright impressive. Oh, maturity. How you've changed me!

And now for the +'s!

+ I'm slowly getting back into cooking at home. We went a whole week without going out for pizza or sushi, which is a very good thing.

+ Last week, we met a super nice couple at the bar while watching the World Cup finale. They came to kickball that night and on Tuesday, we met them at the Rec Center for a little rock climbing. I like making new friends and I hadn't climbed in over a year, so it was a win-win type of night. The fact that I made it to the top of a (very easy) route was pretty nice, too.

+ I've decided to re-take the Graduate Writing Workshop I took a few semesters ago. It's taught by my favorite professor, who encouraged me to sign up and promised that the readings would be completely different. When I tried to register, I had a weird flag on my account, and told the professor I'd have to take care of it first. Naturally, I procrastinated for about two weeks (even though the graduate office is literally 20 feet from my office door) and on Wednesday, my professor stopped by my office to tell me he took care of it for me and I was clear to register. I made sure to sign up right away, having learned my lesson about procrastination (you will be embarrased when someone finally just does it for you) and now I'm looking forward to a weekly writing workshop beginning at the end of August. Whew!

+ Have I mentioned that it's Friday and, as usual, I have an awesome weekend planned? Because it is, and I do. See y'all Monday with a full report!

we're on a road to nowhere...

 

Century training is heating up - literally and figuratively. According to the weatherman's Twitterfeed, East Texas is heading straight into a heat advisory for the rest of this week - a heat index of 105 - 110! I'm glad we don't have a long ride planned for this weekend (we're going to an awesome baby shower and camping instead - more on that later!)

 

But enough about next week. We're here to talk about last week - Sunday, to be exact, and our 53 mile ride to the town of Sacul, Texas. From Wikipedia:

The Texas and New Orleans Railroad, which provided passenger services and freight hauling between Dallas and Beaumont, constructed a rail stop a few miles from Tolivar shortly after 1900. It was at that location that a town site was laid out on land owned by the Lucas family and W.T. Williamson. The founders originally wanted to call the new community Lucas after one of the area's principal land owners, but postal officials denied the application because there was already another town in the state with that name – Lucas in Collin County. The application was resubmitted with the name Sacul, a backwards spelling of Lucas, and was approved. Similarly, the nearby town of Reklaw was also named with a spelling reversal.

 

You have to love a town who spells it's name backwards! While Sacul was once a bustling town of 400, it's population has since dwindled to just over 100. Sacul is known best for a monthly bluegrass festival at the Sacul Opry, which I've never attended but have heard is quite good.

 

We started our adventure at 7:30 AM, in a vain attempt to beat the heat. The first 25 miles were pretty uneventful - everyone was in church so the roads were quite, and we powered our way up a number of challenging hills. When we got to Sacul, we took a fifteen minute break for photos and lunch. Even though we did not see one person in Sacul, and even though the highlight was the mini-watertower we picnicked under, having a destination and reaching it was really exciting. It's the little things, y'all. 

 

 

Picnic in Sacul, which is also a challenge in the Summer Games - check that one off the list! 

 I wish I could say the second half of our ride was equally idyllic, but the sad truth is otherwise. We returned to Nacogdoches on Highway 204, which has a speed limit of 70, no shoulder, and is full of huge trucks whose drivers have apparently never seen a bicycle in their lives. Not at all pleasant. Add to that complete lack of shade and the sun beating down on us from above, and I was ready to be back in Nacogdoches.

 

All in all, the ride took us four and a half hours, which included 30 minutes of resting time. I felt pretty good until the last five miles, and then I was just ready to be done. And oh, the recovery! Four hours in the Texas sun will totally zap your energy and leave you unable to do anything but drink beer and watch your friends play kickball. Worth it, but still. Still.

 

Next on the schedule: mountain biking this weekend in Tyler State Park, and then a trip to New York the following weekend. After that, it's back to the grind with 60, 70, and 80 mile rides. I'm going to enjoy this short break while I can!

submitting to literary journals: a beginner's guide

 A selection of rejection letters.

You may have noticed that I'm been straying from my Tuesday/Thursday recipe posts. This is because it is summer in East Texas, and the thought of turning on my oven has me paralyzed. Until I get out of my cooking slump or until November, whichever comes first, recipes will be sporadic at best. In the meantime, I thought I'd write some "how to" type posts for those of you who have asked me questions in the comments, and we're going to start with one of my favorites: Submitting Your Work to Literary Journals. Whether you're an aspiring writer who doesn't know where to start, an old hand who can add your own wisdom to the steps outlined below, or someone who's muse is stuck in a rut: this is for you.

Now, I'm not a best selling author and I'd hardly call myself an expert at the publishing biz, but I am an accomplished Submitter, having amassed an impressive number of rejections and even snagged a few well placed publications. I like to think I've learned a few things over the last two years of consistently submitting my work, and if my lessons can help someone else, all the better!

1. Write. This might seem obvious, but you have to have something worthy of submitting before you even start looking at journals. So write your heart out and then, share your work with a trusted friend, preferably someone who enjoys reading and doesn't mind being honest. (If you have no friends, there is a great online workshop community called Zoetrope - check it out!) Never submit your first draft - make sure you revise and edit until you feel your work is as polished as possible, and then edit again. Typos are nobody's friend, and competition will be fierce. Don't let sloppy work ruin your chances.

2. Research what's out there. Next to writing, this is the most time consuming part of trying to get published. There are a lot of literary journals, and finding the one that is perfect for your work can be tricky. One useful tool is the website Duotrope, which can search it's database of journals according to your specifications (genre, print vs. online, paid vs. free copies, etc.). There are also many lists out there that rank journals, which can help you figure out which ones are top tier, second tier, etc. Don't be afraid to start by shooting for the top - you never know, and you can always move down to smaller journals when/if you get rejected. Another good trick is to think of authors you love, authors who write how you (long to) write, and see where they've been published.

 Rejection by sticker, which was nice!

3. Read the guidelines. Seriously - read them! If you write poetry, do not submit to a journal that specializes in nonfiction. If your story is about love and marriage, you shouldn't bother sending it to a magazine who's focus is terminal disease. Read the submission guidelines carefully and make sure you follow them all - word count, formatting, deadlines, reading periods, whether you should submit via snail mail or online, if simultaneous submissions are allowed. Check the masthead for the current editor's names, and address your cover letter accordingly. (I like to address my cover letter to the prose editor when available rather than the editor-in-chief, as the genre editors are more likely to read your work first.)

One thing almost ever journal recommends is to read their current or past issues before submitting, in order to get a feel for what they publish. While this is a great idea in theory, it's not really feasible. Ideally, you will be submitting each story to at least 5 journals at once. If you buy and read all those journals first, you will be broke and have no time to actually write and revise your own work. A good compromise is to see if the journal publishes any of their shorter pieces online and read those instead, thus saving you time and money. And when you can, do support all the literary magazines you can. Not only to become familiar with their styles, but because if writers don't support them, who will?

4. The cover letter. Most journals require a cover letter with your submission. Keep it simple and professional. Editors read thousands of cover letters each reading period, and the last thing they want is to read about your dog, your childhood, every class you took as an undergrad, and what your favorite color is. Mine usually goes something like this:

"Dead Editor,
Enclosed is my short story, "How to be Famous," which I hope you will consider for publication in Very Fine Journal. I am a graduate of the creative writing program at SUNY Purchase and have been published in the summer 2010 issues of LIT Magazine and the online journal, Forge. Currently, I live and work in a small town in the middle of nowhere called Nacogdoches, where I spend my spare time training for marathons and applying to MFA programs.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Christine Hennessey"

Short, professional, and a little bit of personality. For the most part, you want your submission to the bulk of the talking.

5. SASE, SS, ETC. If you're submitting by mail, send a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to make responding easier on the journal. And whenever possible, only submit to journals that accept simultaneous submissions. There is nothing worse than having a story tied up for 4 to 6 months with a journal, when you could have it out at 5 journals, increasing your chances of an acceptance. I had a professor who advised us to submit our stories to five journals at once, and then, once it was rejected by all five, to revise and submit again to another five journals. Some of his stories had been rejected over 30 times before they finally got published!

A personal note from the editor. Almost as good as an acceptance.

6. Submit and keep track. Once you've found the right journals, read the submission guidelines, and submitted your work according to all the criteria of the journals, keep track of where your work is. I use an excel spreadsheet, which I update whenever I hear back about a submission. I have columns for story title, journal, submission date, estimated time of response, submission method, the journal's response, and notes (like if the editor included a personal PS at the end of a rejection, which is a rare treat). When you really get going, you'll have seven stories out to 35-40 journals at any given moment, and keeping track is vital if you want to look professional.

7. Write. Waiting back to hear from journals is not an excuse to take a break and rest your weary mind. Ignore your submissions. When you get a response, update your spreadsheet, file it away, and forget about it. Writing and publishing is not for the faint of heart. You will be rejected and, if you're doing it right, you'll be rejected often. Don't take this personally, and instead look at is evidence that you are actively writing, revising, sending out work, and then revising it again. Publishing is 90% perseverence - if you try hard enough, for long enough, eventually you'll find a home for your work. But in the meantime, don't quit your day job.

I hope that helps anyone who's thinking about publishing their work. If you have any questions, anything to add, or think something I've suggested is a totally bad idea, please let me know. I'd love to hear what you think!

See those names on the back cover of LIT? One of them is mine. :)

weekend adventures

 Avocado rolls are the way to a Chrissy's heart!

Every Monday, I awaken with the same question on my lips. "Already?" Yes. Already. Whoever decided the work week should be five days long and the weekend only two was a sadist.

Despite the injustice of having a two day weekend, I did manage to get a lot of things crammed in while actually relaxing - for about an hour, total. C'est la vie. I'll take what I can get!

Friday! After a particularly harrowing week at work for me, and a long day in the field for Nathan, we were more than ready to turn off our brains and decompress. This was accomplished by going out for sushi and then curling up in bed with the dog, my laptop, and a bottle of wine and, as Nathan put it, "Netflixing ourselves into oblivion." Oblivion came early, as we were both asleep by 9:30 PM. No complaints there - I slept like a rock and woke up Saturday morning at six, refreshed and ready to face the world!

Saturday! I made coffee and got my writing and editing done first thing, which felt great. I had grand plans to walk the dog with Nathan and then go to yoga, but the dog walk took longer than expected and I ended up missing class. Bollocks. On the bright side, we walked for nearly two hours. Humidity was about 99% - it was actually misting, which was the opposite of refreshing - and we walked to a bunch of yard sales in the neighborhood. I ended up scoring a copy of Vegan with a Vengeance for two dollars AND an awesome bike bag that hooks to my handlebars. Here's a photo of it in action on Sunday's long ride:

I also learned how to re-tape my handlebars. Yay for new skillz!

In the afternoon, a few of my finest lady friends stopped by to help me with a special project. On July 18th, my oldest Internet friends are getting married. Sadly, I'm not able to attend the wedding (it's in Pennsylvania) but when Finn put out a call for help, I was excited for the chance to pitch in. They're getting married in a barn, which I think is super cool, and then asked if anyone could cut out and mail to them paper leaves for decoration. Amy, Mary, Sonnie and I sketched and cut for about two hours, and now I have a nice box to mail to my friends. It may not be the most traditional wedding gift, and I'd much rather be there instead, but I'm glad my handiwork (and that of my Crafty Renegades) can be there in my place. I love weddings!

As if Saturday hadn't been lovely enough, Nathan and I went on a date in the evening. It was the second annual 12x12 art show downtown. Local artists each completed a peice of work, measuring 12x12, which were available for purchase. Patrons could preview the art all week and buy them for $250, or they could wait for Saturday night at 7PM, and snag their favorite piece for only $100. Waiting was risky, however, because everyone rushes the art at once. Nathan was able to grab our first choice, but I was beaten out by a woman who grabbed my second favorite piece seconds before I reached it. C'est la vie. We ended up getting another peice by a good friend, and all the money goes towards fine arts scholarships for local students, so I wasn't too upset.

The red nest and the blue brain are ours. That they are hung next to one another is a coincidence!

On Sunday, we woke early and set out for our weekly long ride, which gets longer every week as we build towards August's century bike ride. This week, we rode 53 miles - not much more distance than last week's ride, but this route had about 20 times as many hills. I'll give you more details about the ride later this week, but suffice to say that at the end my quads were toast - in a good way.

In addition to the long ride, I had a lot of other plans. Too many other plans, as it turns out. We got back from our ride at noon and showered and ate, then found ourselves at the bar at 1:30 for the World Cup finale. I was then supposed to go to the monthly Scrabble club meeting at 3, then make dinner, then go to kickball at 6 PM. While I made it to the end of the soccer game, I did not make it to Scrabble, and ended up taking a nap before going to kickball, purely as spectator/dog wrangler.

A belated Sunday Pupdate for y'all.

After kickball, we ordered a pizza, watched Arrested Development (we're almost done with the series - sad face) and fell into a well deserved and much needed sleep. Another great weekend in Nacogdoches! And another reason why weekends should always be three days long, minimum.

This week, I am determined to do the following: cook all meals at home (no sushi this week!), keep up with mid-week biking, write every day for 30 minutes, and remember to be grateful for all the good things in my life, even when things become overwhelming. So far, so good, and I hope you all had a great weekend/have a great week as well!

friday +/-

Gosh, this has been one of those weeks. I feel like I already covered most of the lows in yesterday's ranty post (and I thank you for the kind and supportive comments - you are all the best ever). To recap, briefly:

- Overwhelmed at work and a tiny bit lost in what I'm doing.
- Hardly any bike rides, due to slick roads from the rain, the cloud cover at 6 AM making it too dark to ride safely, and being forced to skip spin and drink at the bar instead. (And by "forced," I mean when can we do that again?)
- Half finished projects piling up and stressing me out.
- The fact that I am not moving to Greensboro, North Carolina right now, to start an MFA program in creative writing. I still get depressed about that when I think about that for too long, which is why I try and focus on all the good things about Texas instead. But sometimes the longing catches me off guard.

Lest you think this week was all doom and gloom, here are some things that are going right.

+ Yes, you are seeing that correctly. Mr. Pauly Shore is coming to Nacogdoches, and I have a ticket to his comedy show. It's going to be... well... I don't know what to expect, but it's going to be something!
+ I ran twice this week, at four miles a pop, and it felt SO GOOD! Of course, by "good" I mean hot and humid runs that left me dripping with sweat and caused my calves to cry out in pain on every hill. I can't help it; I love running, and I'm so glad to be doing it again!
+ I finished the monthly newsletter for the yoga studio in record time - two hours of writing and formatting on Wednesday morning, and some fine tuning while I was home for lunch today. Even though this writing isn't strictly creative, I am counting towards my July Writing Challenge, as it is basically my one steady gig that pays (free yoga is better than money).
+ Margaritas for Merci's birthday were delicious, made more so by the ladies I sat with at the end of the table.
+ While transitioning to my new job has been harder than I anticipated, this is not at all due to my co-workers. My co-workers are amazing, smart, and lovely people. They are by far the best thing about this job, and you just can't underestimate the importance of a pleasant work environment.
+ Seamus is most definitely the best dog in the world. It's amazing to stop and think about all the joy that dopey dog has brought to my life. I love animals!

Not bad. Plus, all I have to do is make it through today and then it is the weekend, and the weekend makes everything better. How did your week balance out? Share your +'s and -'s in the comments!

we interrupt this thursday with a freak out

I am having one of those moments. You know the kind - they last for a few weeks, and mostly involve you feeling strung over, stretched thin, and panicky, as if the world is rolling on it's merry way and you've fallen so behind you'll never catch up. Usually when this happens, I can attribute it to something specific. Stress from being unhappy in my job. Not enough exercise of, equally disconcerting, too much. Poor diet. Conflict with a friend. Falling into a rut, resulting in feelings of worthlessness and failure, even if those feelings are completely unwarranted.

This time? The feeling stems from none of those things. Or maybe it's all of those things? I can't tell. I haven't had a spare minute to reflect on anything long enough to figure it out.

I guess it probably has a lot to do with starting a new job less than three weeks ago, and trying to find my place in a world (grants! research! fast paced office full of deadlines!) in which I am not entirely familiar. Getting used to the switch from librarian to Research Development Specialist has been challenging and exhausting and yes, enjoyable, but still - stress is stress, even if it's the good kind. I just feel like in the meantime, I'm falling behind on a lot of other things. I've been keeping up with my July Writing Challenge (mostly) but I feel like I'm rushing through the words to reach the 500 minimum. While something is infinitely better than nothing, it's not the deep, creative act of writing meaningful work that I envisioned for myself. I also have a lot of little projects, half finished, that are beginning to pile up, which is another source of disatisfaction. We bought paint for the bathroom weeks ago, and all I've done so far is remove the photos and postcards from the walls. I've been meaning to repot the Christmas cactus, and moved it outside for that exact purpose, and still it sits there, waiting for me. Not to mention that if I'm serious about reapplying to MFA programs this year, I need to start organizing myself now. Narrow down schools, figure out what I want to put in my writing sample, etc. ACK!

You know what I really want to do? Take a nap, preferably on a beach. Read a book by a campfire. Go on vacation to another country, or even just another town. I know that this will pass, that I will finish my projects and I'll find a way to be productive and have my downtime too. After all, we're camping in two weeks; I'm going to visit New York in three. I will read books then, I will write without being rushed. I will return, refreshed and ready to face the world with a gorgeous bathroom. These things will happen. In the meantime, I just need to take a deep breath and push through.

All together now: breathe...

recipe: lemon garlic quinoa with spinach and tomatoes

A few years ago, I was at Mary T's house and we got hungry. Out of nowhere, she whipped up this amazing orzo recipe featuring lemon, garlic, spinach and tomatoes. I ate about five servings and then asked for the recipe, which got passed around our group of friends, and now this dish tends to turn up at least half our gatherings. And trust me, I'm not complaining!

The recipe I got from Mary didn't have exact measurements and I end up making it a little differently each time, but the ingredient list is always the same. Orzo, lemon, garlic, spinach, tomatoes. Except for this time. This time, I decided to try something different and substitute quinoa for the orzo. I have long sung the praises of quinoa and it was on sale at the Kroger last week, so I have lots to spare. And truthfully? I think I like this version better! It sticks to your ribs and you get all the awesome benefits of my favorite seed-masquerading-as-a-grain. Orzo or quinoa - either way, this dish is a winner!

Lemon Garlic Quinoa with Spinach and Tomaotes
inspired by Mary T.

You will need:
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
3-4 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 cup quinoa, dry

Directions: 
Prepare quinoa according to package. (I like to make mine in a rice cooker because it's super easy.) While quinoa is cooking, mix together lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a small bowl and let the flavors combine. Heat a good sized pan and add the lemon mixture to it. Cook until garlic is fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down and get a little saucy. Finally, add the spinach and cook until the greens are wilted.

Take the spinach-tomato mixture and add it to the pot of quinoa. Stir until everything is incorporated. Enjoy!

half way there!

Week three of Century Training was not a bad week, all things considered. Despite skipping my Friday morning ride yet again (seriously, I have not made it on one Friday morning ride yet!) I still managed to crank out 49 miles on Sunday. That's half a century! Nathan and I averaged about 14 miles per hour, which is pretty slow, but made for a really pleasant, laid back ride. I didn't feel tired or cranky once, and the only thing that hurt when we were done was my butt. I have one word for y'all: chafing. Not a pretty sight.

As much as I enjoy my leisurely Sunday rides I do have to get comfortable riding faster. This is partly because a 14 MPH pace will make my rides take all freaking day (especially as they get longer - 55 this weekend!) and also because the Hotter'N'Hell has a cut off point. If you do not reach the 62 mile mark by 12:30 PM (aka - Hell's Gate), then you are directed to a shorter route that's only 84 miles long. I don't think I'll have a problem riding that far in 5.5 hours, as I was able to ride 50 in 3.5, but you never know. It would be nice to not come in last place.

As for other workouts, I rested on Monday because I was totally drained from my 50 miler/4th of July funtivities. On Tuesday I was still a little sore and the thought of riding my bike wasn't exactly appealing, so I decided to go for a run instead. I took it easy - 4 miles in about 40 minutes - and then I went to yoga in the evening. Today? I am so sore! I guess it's because I hadn't run in a few weeks, but seriously? My legs feel like they used to after a 16 miler on the trail. Pathetic. I think I may start running once a week instead of the Friday bike ride that I've never done anyway. That would mean I only ride three times a week instead of four, but since I'm doing so well on my long rides I think my body can handle it. If my body can't handle it, well, that's what being flexible and forgiving is all about! Training to me is about experimenting to see what your body can handle. Since this is my first time training for a century, I have a lot of discovering to do!

Tonight is my spin class, but I'm skipping so I can go drink a margarita in honor of a friend's birthday. (Balance, people.) We've also got a lot of rain in the forecast for the next few days, and I'm hoping that won't affect my riding too much. Fingers crossed! Mostly, though, I am feeling strong this week. Capable. Able. Like I can and will do anything. As these weeks are less common than I'd like to admit, I'm going to enjoy the feeling and ride it for as long as I can. Especially while drinking my margarita tonight. :)

weekend adventures

You know it's been a crazy week when I don't write my Weekend Adventures post until Tuesday. And truly, I don't have a very good excuse. While it was a holiday weekend, I still had to work yesterday (blasphemey, I know) and while I did have an action packed weekend, it wasn't any more packed than usual. Well, maybe a little more packed than usual. I'll let you be the judge.

Friday! We kicked off the weekend right by spending the bulk of this evening at Vicki and Jeromy's house, hanging out, drinking gin and tonics, and talking late into the night. It was pouring rain outside and Vicki ordered take-and-bake pizzas, and their home is so cozy and welcoming that it ended up being a perfect night. I'm lucky to know so many awesome people in my little town.

Saturday started with sleeping in, which is always nice. I got up around 8:00 am and wrote my words for the day, per the July Writing Challenge. Then there were blueberry pancakes, a trip the farmers' market for vegetables, fruit and flowers, and a walk in the park with the dog. Despite feeling slightly hungover, we went to Lufkin where I got lots of little things at Target - new oven mitts, a little rug to put under the dog's food station, work clothes from the clearance rack. Often I wish we had a Target right in town, but truthfully I'm glad we don't. I would be broke and my home would full of awesome things I don't actually need. 

One of the two pies I ate this weekend. It was a weekend of pie!

Our apartment has been in shambles for quite some time, and so to motivate ourselves to clean we invited some friends over for dinner - the MRTs and S & C. I made a weird pasta dish with a cashew cream sauce, which tasted better the next day (sorry friends!), Ms. MRT brought a blueberry pie, and C provided a delicious Greek salad. It was a very good night with very good friends, and guess what? My apartment looks awesome! Success!

Sunday was our weekly long ride. I had 45 miles on my training schedule but we ended up riding 49. We rode country roads and farm to market routes out to Garrison, stopped to rest at at a gas station where we got Gatorade and refilled our water bottles, and then headed back home. It took just over 3.5 hours and I felt pretty good the whole way. So good, in fact, that later in the afternoon we went to a Fourth of July BBQ with our kickball camrades and I played beer pong, badminton and ate two or three meals in one sitting before riding my bicycle (again!) downtown to watch fireworks. A very good fourth.

Yesterday, however, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Was it the 50 mile bike ride? The badminton? The beer pong? The world will never know. I worked all day and then, when I got home, chained myself to the computer for another hour and paid all the bills. I also bought my plane ticket to New York. Needless to say, I am now broke. C'est la vie! I also skipped writing Sunday and Monday, but it's okay. To fulfill my challenge I only have to write six days a week, which means I won't take another day off until the middle of the next week. And since I didn't write, I made sure to read the latest issue of Poets and Writers in order to do a little something-something for my writerly ambitions (and learned a heck of a lot about agents - great issue!).

All in all, a great weekend, albeit exhausting. I'm hoping this next weekend will be quieter but first - the slow march towards Friday. I hope it speeds by for both of us!