Granola Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest to win a bag of Love Grown Granola! I had a lot of fun reading all your responses and learning the ways you like to eat your granola. I was surprised to see that so many people like to use it as a topping on yogurt! I guess I just don't eat a lot of yogurt. As a lactose intolerant and mostly vegan cheapskate, I don't buy the soy version very often. I do, however, love granola - I almost always eat it in a bowl, with almond milk. According to my informal survey, that places me in the minority of granola enthusiasts. More of you like to eat it by the handful than to have it as cereal. A truly shocking discovery!

But you didn't come here to learn how I like my granola - you came to see who won the giveaway. I "chose" our winner by first assigning a number to everyone who commented on the post, and then assinging a second number to everyone who tweeted about the contest. This equaled a total of 24 entries. I plugged that into the True Random Number Generator and - voila! 7 is our winner!

And it just so happens that number 7 was assigned to Sarah, from Sarah Learns! Congratulations, Sarah. I'll be mailing you your granola ASAP. (And by ASAP, I mean Monday. I'm kind of lazy when it comes to the post office.)

Thanks for playing along, everyone! And thanks to Love Grown Granola for donating such a delicious prize.

Waste Not, Want Not

These last few weeks I've been examining our budget and trying to reduce the amount of money we spend. My credit card is almost paid off, which means that next month I can start making bigger payments on my student loans and putting more money into savings. This is very exciting news, especially since I've been carrying a balance on my card for over four years and the minimum balance I've been paying on my loans meant I wouldn't be debt-free until the age of 50. My current goal is to pay off my loans by the age of 40, but I have to admit I haven't done the math to see if that's even possible. I'm afraid to consult a calculator.

As far as reducing our spending goes, we've made a few tweaks which have been paying off. Here are the top three money-saving practices we've instituted:

1. Taking part in the GAAD challenge.
This is really my challenge, not Nathan's. Basically, I have not bought any new clothing since January 1, 2011 and I don't intend to shop again until the calendar turns to 2012. (With the exception of pants for work and running capris, both of which were planned prior to the challenge.) Now, it's not like I was spending huge quantities of money on clothing before. I live in East Texas, where the Target clearance rack is about as fancy as I get. The GAAD challenge has had a different effect on my finances. Because I'm not on the lookout for new clothes or good deals, I'm thinking about shopping less. I no longer wander through stores, just in case something is on sale. Which means I'm also not buying three or four other things I didn't know I needed until I saw them on the shelf at Target. Emails about clearance sales from my favorite online shops are deleted without being opened. The pressure (which I put on myself) to always scoop up a decent deal is gone. It's a whole area of my life I no longer have to think about, except for when I get dressed in the morning. And best of all, I still have things in my closet that I've never even worn, and I still find myself weeding out items to donate to Goodwill! Which just goes to show that I own way more than I need. A striking realization, and one which I'm trying to apply to other areas of my life.

2. Using the car less... and less... and less.
We live in a small town and I can get pretty much anywhere I need to go by foot, bike or scooter. Lately Nathan has been taking my scooter to work since his job is farther away, and I've been riding my bike the one mile to campus. The scooter uses a fraction of the gas our car requires, plus it's more fun to drive. And since gas prices are currently through the roof, this is an excellent new habit to have.

I'm also taking advantage of bike commuting while the weather is nice. Once it hits 110 degrees in June, July and August, I know I'll be stealing back my scooter. 

3. Eating to live while still living well.
I love food. I love to go out to dinner and I love to experiment with new recipes and fancy ingredients. Alas, these habits are expensive! Another good thing about living in East Texas (depending on how you look at it) is that we are very limited when it comes to eating out. Because of the dearth of vegetarian/vegan options, we eat about 85% of our meals at home. Lately, I've been getting back to the basics with ingredients and dishes. We just joined a new CSA so we'll be getting the majority of our produce from there (and we paid up front for the season, so at this point it seems free!) And most important, I'm making a serious effort to stop wasting food. I'm terrible about forgetting to use up the last of the arugula, or the squash that is shoved in the back of the crisper, or the leftovers from last Saturday hiding behind a carton of OJ. My new method is to put all perishables and leftovers on the top shelf of the fridge so they're the first thing I see when I open the door. Every time I throw food away, I'm throwing money away - not to mention all the people in the world who are starving.

I know these aren't ground breaking revelations, but for a couple who already lives pretty cheaply these tweaks are definitely making a difference. Do you have any tricks to save money? Any simple methods to make life less expensive and more awesome? Feel free to share - I'd love some new ideas!

Review: Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow

Sharp Teeth had been on my radar for a while.I read a review when it first came out and it sounded interesting, but not quite up my alley. I tend to read literary novels rooted in realism, so a book about werewolves? Eh. I passed it by.

Then one day, while at the college bookstore buying texts for my writing workshop, I saw that my favorite professor had listed Sharp Teeth as required reading for one of his undergraduate classes. "Huh," I thought. "I really admire that professor. Maybe this book deserves a reading after all." Alas, I forgot about Sharp Teeth, reading story collections by Alice Munro and Jesse Lee Kercheval instead. Finally I found myself at the public library right before my trip to Florida, looking for something different. Fun. Beach-able. I saw Sharp Teeth on the shelf and decided to give it a shot.

The first thing you should know about Sharp Teeth is that it is written entirely in verse. I don't come across much epic poetry these days and I admit - I groaned when I realized this book was one big poem (a non-rhyming poem, but still). I decided to keep reading and after a while I got used to the structure and began to appreciate the stylistic choice that the author, Toby Barlow, had made. Sharp Teeth is a book about werewolves that roam Los Angeles and the drama, betrayal, love and loss that occurs among and between different packs. It's also a love story about one werewolf - an unnamed woman - who falls in love with Anthony, a dogcatcher who is in the dark about his love's true self. Mostly though, it's a story about identity, community and the things we do in order to feel like we belong somewhere, with someone. It's about all the things every book is about, but it looks at these common themes from a fresh perspective - a wolf's perspective.

What worked in this book: I ended up liking the prose poetry style more than I thought I would. Because the story itself was so fantastic, the poetry suited it. It was sort of like reading The Odyssey - the line breaks gave the book a feeling of ancient importance, even though it was set in modern day LA. I also liked the way the sparse prose left much to the imagination - Barlow shies away from giving the reader too many details. We are offered a glimpse of this world, a few lines that show how much Anthony and the girl are in love, for example, or a short verse about the process of changing into a werewolf, or even a page recounting the act of a wolf eating a human bone by bone. Barlow tends to linger on the more gruesome scenes, which made the short and sweet moments hold even more importance. It took me about 50 pages to get into this book, but once I was in I was hooked. It was also a faster read than I expected - all that white space makes for a lot of page turning! And of course I liked the romance story line. Of course I did.

What didn't work: As I said, Barlow shies away from details. Sometimes this works for him, sometimes it works against him. This book is very "in the moment" - we don't learn a lot about the characters' pasts and some of their motives are murky. There is clearly some kind of plan that is being set in motion by the werewolves, but we're never told exactly what that plan is. And while this adds to the air of mystery, it's also a little annoying. I wanted to KNOW more. I wanted to know the history of werewolves - where did they come from? Is there some kind of leader? How long do they live? Are they governed by any rules? While these questions are addressed, we are given only hints of the answers. I also felt some of the characters were on the one-dimensional side. There are many werewolves in the different packs. We get a lot of names of different wolves but it was hard to remember who was who - they had few differentiating characteristics.

Overall: I'm glad I read this book. It wasn't my Favorite Book Ever but it was a great way to step outside my literary comfort zone, in regard to both plot and the structure. Plus, it was a really fun book to read on the beach. Three out of five stars!

Weekly Writing Goals - Week 4

Last week was kind of a bust in the writing department.Because I work Monday through Friday, from 8am to 5pm, and also exercise and walk dogs and make dinner and try to keep the house looking more like a home and less like a war zone, writing during the week often gets pushed to the side. I get more done on the weekends, but I've been out of town nearly every weekend for the last two months. While these weekend adventures are inspiring for a creative life, they're not conducive to actually producing creative works. Luckily, the next few weekends - while busy - will be mostly spent in town, at home, close to my books and my computer. I'm planning to make April an especially productive month, starting with this weekend.

To refresh your memory, last week's goals were as follows:

• Finish my first draft of the East Texas Gothic piece. I eeked out another 500 words, but the piece is far from finished. I have an idea of where I want it to go, but am still not sure how I'm going to get it there.
• Write literary reviews for my two most recently read books. I only wrote one book review, but I was pleased with the comments and discussion it sparked! I finished another book while on vacation and I'm almost done with yet another book, so more reviews are coming. I really like posting my reviews. It encourages me to connect the books I'm reading to something going on in my life, which makes me feel closer to the stories. Books! They're just the best!

As for this week's goals:

• Continue working on the East Texas Gothic piece. Aim for 500 words a day, starting tonight. I was trying to write 500 words a day, every day, for a while, but I think short bursts of this system when I have an actual focus will be more effective. 500 words only takes about 30 minutes, and surely I can find 30 minutes a day to write, even during the week.
• Write another book review. 
• Start and finish freelance work. Yes, you read that correctly. I have a yoga studio newsletter to write and I also got hired (!) to create a social media campaign for a local business. This opportunity came from the presentation I did over spring break about using the social networking to market organizations and businesses. I'm going to be creating a Facebook page, Twitter profile and Foursquare account for this group AND get paid for it. Exciting!

Nathan wanted to go canoe camping this weekend, but clearly I am way too busy for yet another adventure. Priorities! 

Race Report: 2011 Texas Quest Adventure Race

Go Pink Whiskey!

On Saturday, Pink Whiskey (our adventure racing team, which usually features myself, Nathan and our good friend Amy) competed in the Texas Quest Adventure Race. This was our third race together, but the first one we've done since last year. We had originally signed up for the 12 hour course but after less than ideal training we made the wise decision to drop down to the 6 hour course (which was changed to a 7 hour course by the race director at the last minute). It was definitely the right choice - when we finished racing we were exhausted and physically as well as mentally spent. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.

Getting ready to leave town.

We left Nacogdoches after work on Friday and drove two hours south to Double Lake Recreation Area in Coldspring, Texas, the park where the majority of the race would be taking place. Most of the racers were camping the night before, ourselves included. We set up camp in the dark, checked the air in our tires, had a glass of wine and then hit the sack. We had to drop off our canoe at a lake 7 miles away at 6am, and it was already pretty late.

If you've never done an adventure race, or even heard of adventure racing, here's a definition compliments of Wikipedia:

Adventure racing (also called expedition racing) is a combination of two or more endurance disciplines, including orienteering (if an orienteering map is used) and/or navigation (when non-orienteering maps are used), cross-country running, mountain biking, paddling and climbing and related rope skills. An expedition event can span ten days or more while sprints can be completed in a matter of hours. There is typically no dark period during races, irrespective of length; competitors must choose if or when to rest. disciplines, including

Adventure races are usually urban (such as the New Orleans race we did two years ago) or in the woods (such as the Texas Quest). Sometimes they're a combination of the two. You never know, and that's part of the fun! In almost every event, racers use a map to find their way to checkpoints, which are hidden along the course. You don't have to get all the checkpoints, but the more you have the more likely you are to win. A group who finds ten checkpoints will beat a team that finishes sooner, but only has nine checkpoints. This requires a little strategy and a lot of faith - you want to find all the points, but you don't want to waste too much time on any one point.

When 6am finally rolled around, Nathan and Amy went to drop off our boat while I stayed behind, making coffee and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for fuel. They returned about 45 minutes later and we had breakfast, finished getting our gear ready and set up our transition area (TA) with all the other racers.

Organizing our bikes in the transition area.

After a brief pre-race meeting, we received maps of the park and surrounding area and then got ready to start the race. It should have begun at 8am but we didn't start until 8:15 - not bad for a bunch of adventure racers!

Running on the trails.

The first leg of the race was a run. All the teams (sprint, 7 hours and 12 hours) did this leg together. We entered the woods and ran along a trail that was about two miles long. The idea was that this would spread the pack, so we weren't all jammed into the transition area at the same time. There were not checkpoints on this leg - it was just a run. It was sort of effective. The trail was single track, making it hard to pass people. Nathan, Amy and I did pretty well - we finished this leg in 17 minutes, one of the faster times I saw posted on the results board.

After the run we were directed to a mountain biking leg. We grabbed our helmets, hopped on our bikes, and took off for the biking trail. Again, it was a narrow trail but there weren't too many people around us. It was also pretty flat, which was a relief. My training on the bike had been sub-par (one road ride and one trail ride in recent weeks) and I knew it was going to be tough. We handled it pretty well, found our two checkpoints, and returned to the TA in about 35 minutes.

After the mountain biking leg, we got back on our bikes and headed out to make the 7 mile journey to the boats. This was a tough ride with a lot of hills, plus we were on heavy mountain bikes instead of light, efficient road bikes. We made it to the boats in about 50 minutes, stopping just long enough to take a photo in the blue bonnets, which you can admire at the top of this post. (Photos in the blue bonnets are a Texas tradition - nearly every native has one. This was my first!)

Nathan and I headed out of the park and towards the boats.

Nathan shows off our map.

When we reached the boats we were given a map of points on the lake. We hopped into our canoes and paddled around for nearly two hours, finding the checkpoints and punching our passport. This was actually really pleasant - the weather was perfect, the lake was beautiful and we were surprisingly efficient at moving our canoe across the water. Having three people with paddles helped. We managed to snag all five checkpoints during this leg. Success!

After we were through with the canoe we had to get back on our bikes and make the 7 mile trek back to the park and our trusty transition area. This was the lowest point of the race for Team Pink Whiskey. At this point it was about noon, the sun was high in the sky, we were tired, hungry, sunburned and did I mention that it was literally 87 degrees? Spring in Texas is serious business.

I mentioned the hills we rode while riding to the canoes. The hills on the return trip were much, much worse. I will not go into details, but there may have been some walking of bikes, which may have caused a small fight, which may have escalated, which may have peaked at a small gas station where voices may have been raised and a helmet may have been thrown on the ground in anger and frustration. Maybe. It's okay. Fights are pretty much a given when it comes to adventure racing - every team has it's breaking point, and I'm thinking that point is usually somewhere around the five hour mark.  The important part of this story is that we got back on our bikes and continued on our way. Luckily, we had gotten past the worst of the hills (and the worst of the fight) and even managed to get one more checkpoint in town before finally rolling back to our transition area.

Checkpoint number nine on the water!

Checkpoint number ten was outside a VFW hall.

Once we had recovered from our bike ride (the return trip took an hour, which was excellent considering the detour for the checkpoint, the huge hills and the episode on the side of the road) we readied ourselves for the next leg of the race. We would be trekking through the trails on foot, searching for three checkpoints. We were given coordinates, Nathan plotted them on our map and we were off!

Trekking through the forest.

We didn't know how many more legs of the race there were, but we did know that time was running out. It was already 2pm at this point, and the race cut-off was 3:15. After 3:15, we would lose one checkpoint for every minute we were late. Since we worked hard for the points we had located, we didn't want to lose them! We finally found the first checkpoint (Nathan made a simple mistake and plotted it wrong) but we had spent way too much time combing through the brush looking for it. We decided to find the last two checkpoints and then get back to the transition area as soon as we could, finishing the race.

Well, that plan didn't pan out. The map we were given was confusing and bulky, and we had it folded in such a way that we missed a vital piece of information - the dotted line that we assumed was a power line was actually a pipe line, which threw off all our calculations. We ran and walked through the woods for over two hours, totally lost, before finally giving up and heading back to the TA with minutes to spare. We didn't even get to start the second-to-last leg (a hike and bike section). None of the teams made it to the final leg (a steeple chase - no idea what that even was!) so we actually weren't too far behind.

Overall, it was a tough race and a good experience.We came in second out of (two) co-ed teams and got medals, which made my day. We were even able to joke about the fight we had during the drive home, so I think Pink Whiskey will remain intact. Nathan and I were discussing adventure racing yesterday and we decided the optimal thing would be for us to each have our own team - my team would do sprint races (under six hours) and his team would do races that were 12 hours and longer. That way, we could still share the experience but without compromising his abilities or my sanity.  Because honestly, if I had to race for another five hours on top of what we'd already done, I probably would have cried. I don't have the stamina for 12 hour+ races, nor am I willing to dedicate that much time to training to gain the stamina. Six hour races are more than enough for me.

Our last leg. We were so lost!

In the meantime I'm looking forward to yoga tonight, as body is begging for a good stretch after seven hours of adventure racing. Have you ever done an adventure race? Would you consider trying one? It took some convincing on Nathan's part to get me to sign up, but I'm glad for the experiences I've had doing them. I love challenging myself, and adventure racing is definitely a challenge!

PS - All the photos in this post were taken by Amy Sanford: Adventure Racing Bad Ass, Awesome Photographer, Dear Friend, and Yogi Extraordinaire.

Love Grown Granola Giveaway!

A few weeks ago, the nice folks at Love Grown Foods emailed me and offered to send along a few bags of their granola. First, I was confused. Why would someone offer me free stuff? I'm not a famous blogger and I have a modest (but awesome!) readership. Then I thought, well. Why not? Once I read a bit about the company I realized I was, after all, their target market and that this was a company I could get behind. So I said yes to the granola and was excited when it arrived at my door!

Love Grown Foods was founded by Alex and Maddy, who met and fell in love while attending the University of Denver. "Both of the young entrepreneurs have a great love for the outdoors, an enthusiasm for active lifestyles, and are passionate about health. With Alex’s business knowledge and Maddy’s talent for healthy–yet delicious–cooking, it made perfect sense to start a health‐food company. With drive and excitement, Love Grown Foods was born." Sounds delicious to me!

I was sent three bags of granola to sample - Raisin Almond Crunch, Sweet Cranberry Pecan and Cocoa Goodness. Of the three, Sweet Cranberry Pecan was my favorite - the salty nuts and the tart cranberries complemented each other perfectly. The Raisin Almond Crunch came in at a close second, and surprisingly the Cocoa Goodness was third. I liked the chocolaty granola, but it was a little sweet for breakfast (my preferred granola eating time). I think Cocoa Goodness would be great as a yogurt topper for an after dinner dessert, however. Yum. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Granola is one of my favorite foods. In college, I was known to bring a plastic bag to the dining hall and clean out their granola station, smuggling it back to my dorm room under my coat. I like to make granola from scratch, but I don't always have the time or the energy. Love Grown Food's granola is an excellent alternative - it's tasty, healthy and kept  me full until lunch. Definitely worth a try!

This is the first time a company has contacted me about freebies and reviews, and when I decided to accept the granola I had to make a deal with myself. I decided that I would only accept things IF they were from companies I supported and believed in, IF they fit in with my values, morals and the general theme of my blog, and IF I could somehow pass a prize on to my readers. Love Grown Foods passed the test! And so, I would like to give away one bag of Love Grown Food's Raisin Almond Crunch to one lucky reader. There are two ways to enter. (If you do both, you get two entries!):

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to eat granola.

2. If you're on Twitter, tweet the following: I entered to win Love Grown Granola from @TheNewChrissy and you can too! http://tinyurl.com/668zkao

You have until Tuesday, March 31 to enter. I'll announce the winner Wednesday morning. And this contest is open to anyone, any where, so don't be shy!

Review: Possum Living, by Dolly Freed

As some of you are aware my partner, Nathan, has a preoccupation with the apocalypse. He loves planning our future homestead, which will be self-sufficient, off the grid and include enough resources to survive anything from a zombie attack to a nuclear explosion. He likes camping because it's a chance to practice his survival skills, and most of his marathon training is completed with the idea that a person who can run 26.2 miles has a better chance of making it through most end of the world scenarios.

Part of his preparation is collecting and reading books on different survival-related subjects. Homesteading, food growing, nuclear survival handbooks - you know, the usual. When I was at the American Library Association's annual conference two years ago, I picked up a postcard for Possum Living and gave it to him, because it seemed right up his alley. He bought the book, read it and then handed it to me. And because I liked the tagline - "How to Live Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money" - I read it, too.

Possum Living was published in 1978, written by Dolly Freed when she was 17 years old. It is part memoir, part instructional manual, part inspiration and wholly narrated in Dolly's easy going and self-assured voice. Basically, she and her father live in a house they purchased with cash (no mortgage!), eat food they raise and grow themselves (bunnies and chickens in the basement and yard, fishing whenever they want, and a substantial garden on their property), purchase all their clothes second hand, brew their own alcohol, get around on bikes or borrowed horses and sometimes bend the rules to get what they need without actually spending any money.

Dolly tells the reader that she and her father live on $700 a year. I'm not sure what that equals today but I know it's much less than what I live on and I consider myself to be fairly thrifty. While much of the information Dolly provides is now dated and I found myself skimming the chapter on law and most of the non-vegetarian recipes, I will say that Possum Living is both inspiration and highly motivating. The best sentence of the whole book is the following, and if you only read it for this reason than that would be reason enough:

"It's easier to learn to do without some of the things money can buy than to earn the money to buy them."

I love this, and ever since reading Possum Living it's become a sort of mantra.  Now, I'm not a lazy person. I'm very ambitious and motivated - when it comes to things I'm passionate about. Writing, reading, running, yoga, feminism, activism, animals, community. When it comes to my actual 9-5 desk job? Not so much. I would love to quit my job and focus full time on the things that really excite me, and I'm working towards that reality. I know that when it happens I'll be making a lot less money than I'm currently earning. Which is a scary thought - no one wants to feel like they're going backwards! This is part of the reason I'm drawn to minimalism, anti-consumerism and living simply - I'm training myself to not only live with less, but to thrive because of it. Just as Nathan prepares for the end of the world, I am preparing for the end of this way of living and the beginning of something better. Freedom.

While I probably won't make the recipes that Dolly provides or live exactly the life she advocates, I will strive to approach living with the gusto and courage that fills her book. If you're looking for a quick and easy read that will get you fired up, then Possum Living is it!

Beach Vacation in Destin, Florida!

Over Spring Break, I was lucky enough to travel to Destin, Florida with my younger sister, Susan. We stayed at the Emerald Grande hotel and, because my sister works for a national magazine, a lot of our activities were comped. A pretty sweet deal, made all the sweeter by the beautiful beaches, friendly people, and luxurious afternoons we spent on the water! Here's a little photo tour of our vacation. Enjoy!

The Emerald Grande was a great hotel. Instead of a simple room, we actually stayed in a condo on the tenth floor. This baby had two balconies, three bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a living room with a large, flat screen television. We had breakfast on the balcony each morning while enjoying the beautiful view of the green water that stretched out around us.

The hotel was positioned in the center of HarborWalk Village, which contained stores, restaurants and bars and provided all kinds of entertainment. While I am generally more of an adventurous traveler (I like going to out of the way places, exploring unfamiliar cities and being in the outdoors) I have to admit - having all your needs and desires within reach was quite a lovely novelty. 

We did many things during our too-brief stay in Florida, but the top three highlights were definitely a yoga class on the beach; a sunset dolphin cruise; and a massage at the Emerald Grande's spa. Coming in as close runners-up were organic margaritas at the Dancin' Iguana (tequila, agave nectar and lime - oh my!) and sunbathing and book reading on the beach. My legs are now a pinker shade of white, which is exciting.

A beach shuttle took us from the harbor and through the water before finally delivering us on the hotel's private stretch of beach, complete with blue umbrellas and chairs for lounging. I could not get over how clear and green the water was! (Hey, I grew up on Long Island. Enough said.)

Yoga on the beach was awesome, if a little on the beginner side for me. But one of the beautiful things about yoga is that you can make every practice your own - poses can be modified to be easier or harder, and sometimes just holding the simplest pose for an extended period of time is harder than a fast moving flow class. Plus, everything is better in the sand and under the sun.

I also LOVED the dolphin cruise. Our little ship took off at 5pm and motored around the gulf. We saw our first three dolphins very quickly - they were right off the side of the ship and swam under the helm while we watched and tried to snap photos. After following the three around for a bit, we went in another direction and came upon a group of dolphins leaping in and out of the water - there were at least nine of them, maybe more. (I just Googled the collective for dolphins and found that "pod" is most often used, with "school" and "pack" listed as alternatives. I love language!) It was really hard to get a good photo of the pod of dolphins. They were quick, I am not and gazing at them in awe took precedence over getting the perfect shot. Instead, here is a sharky looking photo. I promise it's actually a dolphin.

On our way back to shore, we stopped and watched as the sun went down over the horizon. It was pretty spectacular - definitely the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen.

We also spent a lot of time eating and drinking which, if you followed my recent foray into foursquare, you've already read about. While I had some fine beverages, a lot of onion rings and my weight in guacamole, I have to say - vegetarian options were not very plentiful on the Emerald Coast. I did my best and I didn't starve, but I did realize something about myself. I have a delicate stomach. Fresh, wholesome vegan food makes me feel alive; just about everything else makes me feel sick and sluggish, even if it's tasty in the moment. I will remember this the next time I travel, and pack my snacks accordingly!

All in all, it was an excellent trip, a much needed vacation and a great chance to spend some time with my middle sister, who I don't see nearly enough. The only thing missing was our third and youngest sister, Ally, but fear not - plans are already in the works for a true Sister Trip Oh Twelve. Until then!

Weekly Writing Goals - Week 3

I probably don't need to tell y'all that I am way behind on my blogging. I have a number of things I've been meaning to type up and post (a recipe, two book reviews, a granola give-away and a vacation recap) and those things will happen in due time. I will not say that life has gotten in the way of blogging, because life is the POINT of blogging (for me, anyway). I'll just say that I've been busy and will be back in full force as soon as I can.

I am, however, never too busy for writing. (If I keep saying that, eventually it will be true. Right?) Even though I was all over the place last week, I still managed to make some progress on last week's big goal - to "begin something new." I wrote over a thousand words of a new short story, which I'm thinking of as my East Texas Gothic piece. So far, it's very different from my usual style and I'm having fun with it. Writing sessions occurred after a presentation I gave last week while waiting for my ride home, and in the airport while waiting for my flight to Florida. I was very proud of these two writing sessions, because they were in different places and under unusual circumstances. I usually find inspiration in routine, but that can very limiting. I was glad to get outside my comfort zone in more ways than one.

Bonus goals: I sent the Dread essay to a blog friend for a read through, finished reading one novel, and started reading a memoir. (I always get my best reading done while on vacation!) Go, me!

As for this week, my goals are again simple and direct. 

• Finish my first draft of the East Texas Gothic piece. 
• Write literary reviews for my two most recently read books.

Next week, my goals will be more numerous. When I'm working on something new, I spend a lot of time thinking, stumbling around the edges of the story and revising as I go along. I am very slow at finishing first drafts, but they're usually fairly developed by the time I get to the end. Subsequent revisions are mostly about tightening my language and structure.

And now: back to the work that actually pays. More soon. 

Housekeeping and A Publication

Hello friends! If you're reading this in a feed (and if you aren't subscribed, you should be - I recommend Google Reader for all your aggregating needs!) I suggest your click on through to my actual blog. I've done a hefty redesign and I think it looks pretty swanky!

The header is courtesy of my very talented friend Elma Gildenhuys and the background was created by myself, using Blogger's Template Designer. (Easy to use, even for those of us who are graphically challenged!) There is still some tweaking to be done so this isn't the final design. But I'd love to hear what you think of the changes so far!

Another small change I've made is putting Google Ads on my blog. I hope they aren't too obnoxious and that y'all don't hate them and then hate me and then quit reading my blog because you think I'm a sell out. I don't know if I'll actually make any revenue from the ads, but as money is tight and it would be nice to make a little cash from my writing, I figured it was worth a try. If it turns out that it's not worth it, then I can always remove the ads with the simple click of a mouse.

And speaking of writing, today a flash fiction piece that I wrote has been published on an online journal called The Molotov Cocktail. Check it out and enjoy!

35 Conferette, or An Old Lady Tries to Rock Out

This past weekend, Nathan and I embarked on an adventure to 35 Conferette, a music conference and festival held annually in Denton, Texas. First, a little history: as I'm sure you're aware, the music festival South by Southwest is taking place in Austin. For years, bands traveling there to perform stopped in Denton and played a few shows. This tradition grew and an unofficial festival was born. In the last few years organizers have tried to make it more official, and this year they actually got permission from the city to hold it downtown. For four days there were three outdoor stages with music from 1pm until 9pm, and then from 10pm until 2pm bands would play at all the different clubs in town.

Pretty exciting and very cool, and if I were ten years younger I would have been all about it. Alas, I am 28.5 years old. My usual bedtime is 10pm, and for two days I didn't go to sleep until after 3am. You know how sometimes you have a trip with bad moments, but overall the memories were good and you can say you had a great time despite the mishaps? Well, in this case I had a few good moments and the rest of the weekend was just kind of eh. This was mostly due to poor planning on our part. We tried to save money by skipping a hotel and camping at a nearby state park, only to realize after we got there that the park was 40 minutes from downtown. Any money we might have saved was eaten up by gas prices. While it was warm the first night, the temperature dropped the second evening and I was spent the night shivering in my hammock, unable to fall asleep. We spent way too much money for one weekend, and during a time when we're trying to save every penny. I didn't like most of the music - a lot of them were generic indie bands or noise rock that gave me a headache. And finally, have I mentioned that I am an old lady who gets cranky past 11pm? No? Because I am.

There were, however, a few good moments and I'd like to take a second to focus on those. One of the shows we saw was O'Death, a band I very much like and not just because the drummer is a good friend from college. Nathan and I hadn't seen David since I graduated in 2004 so it was fun hanging out and catching up. 



We also caught a band called Prince Rama, which featured two women, a keyboard, a drum set, and some of the most interesting music I've heard in a long time. Lots of chanting and spooky sounds and the ladies were just the cutest thing I've ever seen. We bought one of their albums. I can definitely imagine doing yoga to this music.



So there you have it. The two highlights of an otherwise sub-par weekend. From now on, I'll keep my live music limited to local shows and make sure a bed is always within reach. ;)

Weekly Writing Goals - Week 2

I'm a little behind on my goals and everything else this week. Let's just blame it on the fact that it's spring break and everyone deserves a break now and then. On Friday I'm going to Florida for four days with one of my sisters and I doubt I'll write much while I'm lounging on the beach and getting a massage. Which is why I must get my writing goals accomplished before we leave!

But first: let's recap week one of my writing goals.

• I successful entered "The Wedding" in Ploughshares Emerging Fiction Writer's Contest. Good luck, little story!
• I also submitted my short story "Distance" to five journals. I used the excellent website Duotrope to find appropriate journals, which really helps the process. Finding the right places to send your work is time consuming.
• I made it through one revision of "Dread" and tightened it up quite a bit. I think it needs one or two more revisions before I can resubmit it. If anyone out there is a super critical editor and wants to tear an essay to shreds, let me know. We can do a trade! 
• The March newsletter for the yoga studio is done. Colleen asked if she could see the newsletters, and she can! They're posted every month on the studio's blog.
• The only thing I did not accomplish this week was to begin something new. We were out of town all weekend, which shall be my excuse. I'm glad I got the other things done, though - it will make this week's goal easier to focus on. 

As for this week's goal:

• Begin something new. 

Yep. Just one goal. As I mentioned before, I'm going to Florida on Friday and it's already Tuesday. I'm also giving a presentation about social media to a group of local business owners on Thursday, and I'll need to prepare for that. (I used to do these sorts of presentations a lot when I was a Digital Projects Librarian - now I do them as a Freelance Internet Lady.) If I can get a rough draft of a new story done before I leave on my trip, I will be a happy Writer indeed.

Do you have any goals this week? Share or link them in the comments! Accountability is, after all, the key to success.

Saturday Morning From a Bicycle

I don't usually post on the weekend, but we just got back from a bike ride a little while ago and I wanted to share some photos I snapped along the way. I haven't gone riding since my bicycle burn out last summer, when we were training for the century ride that never happened. This morning, we joined the local Bike Shop for a group ride - 20 miles down a mostly quiet road. On the way back the wind was pushing against us, which made for a slower second half, but I didn't mind. It felt good to be back on the bike and even better to realize that my burn out is behind me!

 

In case you can't tell, I love the Instagram app for the iPhone. Free! Download it now!

Hope you're having a lovely, energizing and delicious morning, where ever you are. Happy Saturday!

What We Are

Spring in Nacogdoches makes rejection go down easy.

I finally received my official rejection from the Iowa Writer's Workshop yesterday. I assumed I wouldn't get in because seriously - it's Iowa. I applied anyway because you just never know and seriously - it's Iowa! According to the form letter that I found in my mailbox, they had 1,115 fiction applications for 25 spots this year. I'm not really disappointed. Truthfully, I don't want to move to Iowa City and I'm crossing my fingers for a smaller, more intimate program. I've heard some promising things from other schools, but nothing concrete just yet. When I know for sure, so will you!

The other day I was thinking about the words we use to describe ourselves and how we are identified. I write. I publish. Occasionally, I am accepted to and waitlisted at competitive MFA programs. And yet I have a hard time calling myself a Writer with a capital W. To me, a Writer is someone who sits in a room, empty except for a large desk, a cup of coffee and a computer upon which she taps out her brilliance one keystroke at a time. A Writer is not, for example, a person who works a full time job that has nothing to do with writing, who struggles to find time to sit at her computer, which is in a messy and marginally organized room, and works on her craft for fifteen minutes here, thirty minutes there, while a dog pushes his nose into her lap and the laundry buzzes to let her know the clothes are dry.

It's the same thing with running. I run three or four times a week since I started three years ago. I train for races and have finished two marathons. But I still feel weird calling myself a Runner with a capital R. To me, a Runner is someone who moves effortlessly through their workouts, who is long and lean and fast, who runs because it's natural and easy and enjoyable. Running is not easy for me. I love it, but I've worked hard to make it this far. Even now, I still have a lot of bad runs along with the good ones.

I run, but I'm not a Runner. I write, but I'm not a Writer. Or am I? According to Annie Dillard, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." If this is true, then I guess I'm a lot of things. A Dog Walker, a Research Development Specialist, a Vegetarian, an Inhabitant of a Incorrigibly Messy Home, a Blogger, a Bookworm, a Daughter, a Sister, a Girlfriend, a Yogi-in-Training, a Dreamer, an Optimist.

A Runner. A Writer.

I like the sound of that.

What are you?

Beer Brewing and Bubbles

This past weekend we started our first batch of home brewed beer. I had planned to photograph the process and do a fancy step-by-step tutorial but that did not happen. We may or may not have been a little overwhelmed by the process and aren't really sure if whatever is fermenting in our five gallon bucket will be drinkable and/or alcoholic. Better to do our first batch, see what needs to be fixed and then document the process when we actually know what we're doing. For now, keep your fingers crossed!

We actually brewed twice on Sunday. We started by heading over to our friends' house. George and Elma were also brewing for the first time and George had opted to do it from scratch with grains and hops. We went the beer kit route, thinking it would be easier for first timers to get right. It turns out the kit was just as confusing as the George's method. As soon as we bottle this beer we plan to start another batch, this time without the aid of a kit. It's sort of like baking a cake from a box - only okay when you're feeling lazy. Generally, I prefer to see and feel the individual ingredients. It makes me feel closer to my consumables.

One good sign - our beer is happily bubbling in the airlock. This means that it's definitely fermenting. Whew!



As for our other home grown projects, the shiitake block needed to be refrigerated for three days before we could start growing mushrooms. It's currently taking up way too much room in the fridge and weirding out our guests. Just another day in the Henneward house!

(Ignore the Crisco in the back. I use it once a year for pie crust, because sometimes a substitute just won't do. Also, the OJ is strictly for screwdrivers. Priorities, people!)

Weekly Writing Goals - Week 1

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I plan to start posting my writing goals for the upcoming week each Monday, in order to 1. keep myself motivated, 2. hold myself accountable, 3. make real progress on my path to Published Writer, and 4. totally bore my blog readers, many of whom would rather see photos of my dogs than read the minutiae of artistic benchmarks. To be honest, sometimes I would rather take pictures of my dogs than do the dirty work or actually writing. Alas, we all must make sacrifices for those things that truly matter.

To me, writing matters. Therefore, I plan to do the following things by this time next week in order to become a better writer: 

• Submit my short story "The Wedding" to Ploughshares Emerging Fiction Writer's Contest. 
• Identify five literary journals to which my short story "Distance" can be submitted. Submit. 
• Begin revisions on creative nonfiction piece, "Dread." This essay is about my first year at college, during which time I dreadlocked my hair, studied Buddhism and found myself (in a nutshell). I love this essay - it was my first foray into nonfiction - and I received some great suggestions for revision the last time I sent it to journals. Time to revise and resubmit! 
• Write the yoga studio's newsletter. I do this every month (plus some other Facebook, blog and various marketing duties) in exchange for my membership. It's a very good deal. 
• Begin something new. I've spent the last few months focusing on MFA applications and revising and submitting all my old stories. I'm ready to switch gears and get back to creating. 

That should keep me pretty busy this week. I'll let y'all know how it goes next Monday!

Life Explosion!

Hello, Friday! Thank goodness you're here. This has been a roller coaster of a week, fraught with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I've been really busy both at work and at home - hence survey posts and not a peep yesterday. Therefore, this week's +/- list will be more of a general catch-up. Life is exploding right now, but in a good way!

Running and Swimming and Yoga, Oh My!  

Half marathon training is off to a pretty good start! Amy, Nathan and I are training together, and it's nice to have running partners who are faster than me - it forces me to push myself. On Monday we ran a speedy three miler; on Wednesday we did speed work at the track; and this morning we ran five miles at a medium pace. Today was definitely the hardest of the three workouts - I was hungry when we started and my legs felt like lead, plus it was very humid. I muscled through even as I thought about quitting, and held on for dear life to an average pace of 9:47. Ouch.

Swimming, on the other hand, is going swimmingly. Katie turned me on to Swim Plan, which is a treasure trove of free and highly customizable workouts for the pool. I plan to download a few for the coming weeks.

Tonight, I'm leaving work an hour early and driving two hours to Tyler, Texas, to attend a yoga workshop with Ricky Tran. I'm not sure what to expect, but I love the chance to try a new teacher in a different studio. Exciting!

Living the Writer's Life

This year's MFA application season has yielded a few gems. I joined a Facebook group called "MFA Draft '11" and have been distracted/entertained by the nearly 500 people currently biting their nails along with me as we all wait to hear back from schools. I've also found a few new blogs through some of the threads. One those is Transatlantic Enchilada, in which the blogger/writer has a daily series called "365 Days of Being a Writer," which documents what she's done each day to further her goal of becoming a writer. Obviously, I love this idea and have been reading all her posts, which has super motivating. While I don't think I will devote a separate blog to my writing progress, I do think I'll start up a weekly series outlining my writing goals and action plans for that week. I was doing this for a while, but it was a monthly thing and I think weekly will keep me more focused and productive. Stay tuned!

And speaking of being productive, last night I was in a grumpy mood. We skipped yoga to go rock climbing, ate a fast and not-exactly-healthy dinner so we could get to the gym on time, and then decided to skip climbing at the last minute. No exercise and a disappointing dinner put me in a foul mood. Instead of sulking in front of the TV with a beer, I made peppermint tea and submitted two flash fiction pieces to a total of six journals. When I was done, I felt that the night had not been a waste after all. Success!

Experiments in Fungi and Beer 

Our two big projects this weekend (besides tacking an 8 mile run - yikes! - and finally catching up on laundry - an even bigger yikes!) involves mushrooms and beer. You already know about the beer brewing supplies we purchased in Houston a few weeks ago. Well, on Sunday we plan to brew our first batch ever. Wish us luck! I will, of course, be documenting the process.

I will also be documenting our other experiment: mushrooms! One of the things I got Nathan for his 30th birthday was a shittake mushroom growing kit from Fungi Perfecti. I had no idea what to expect when we opened the box, but it definitely wasn't a lump of sawdust and wood chips that had been inoculated with spores. The whole thing was much bigger than I anticipated but it does claim to yield five pounds of mushrooms. So if you have any good shittake recipes, pass them on!

I think that about sums up my week and a few of the things I'm looking forward to. How did your week pan out? Any crazy adventures planned for this weekend?

ABC's of Me

I don't usually post surveys on The New Me (that's what Facebook is for!) but I've enjoyed reading this meme on some of my favorite blogs and it seemed like a good middle-of-the-week post. Enjoy!

A. Age: 28 years young.

B. Bed size: Full, which can be quite cozy with two people and at least 100 pounds of dog (sometimes 200 pounds, depending on whether Seamus decides to sleep on the couch or the bed). We're hoping to upgrade to a Queen size soon! 

C. Chore you dislike: The floors. I hate mopping and vacuuming.

D. Dogs: But of course! I have two lovely rescue mutts of the big and black variety. If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you're already well acquainted with Seamus and Calvin. Nathan is highly allergic to cats, so we'll be dog people for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't have it any other way!

E. Essential start to your day: If it's a work day, exercise and then a cup of coffee at my desk. On the weekends, I like to start my day with a cup of coffee in bed while watching Hulu on the laptop. Coffee, however, is a constant.

F. Favorite color: Green has been my power color for a very long time.

G. Gold or silver: Silver. I'm not much of a jewelry person in general, earrings being the main exception.

H. Height: 5'7". I am one inch taller than Nathan. True fact, even if he denies it.

I. Instruments you play(ed): I played the trombone in junior high for exactly two weeks. Then I gave up because I felt like everyone was learning faster than me. I regret that now - I would love to have even a modicum of musical talent, but alas. It is not so.

J. Job title: Officially, Research Development Specialist.Unofficially, writer, librarian and dog walker.

K. Kids: Not now and probably not ever. I have zero maternal urges for anything not covered in fur and slobber.

L. Live: A tiny town in East Texas. Population 30,000, not counting the livestock. I have lived here for over six years, which is hard to believe.

M. Mom’s name: Ellen. Which also happens to be my middle name!

N. Nicknames: Chrissy is my nickname - my full name is Christine, but nobody calls me that. Most of my New York family and friends call me Chris, but it never caught on in Texas.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None that I can think of. I've been very lucky thus far.

P. Pet peeves: Not much bothers me. I think my biggest pet peeve is people who litter. It just shows such a lack of consideration and personal responsibility. When I see someone carelessly toss their garbage on the sidewalk or out the window of their car, I get angry and then depressed. And then I usually pick it up and throw it in the trash.

Q. Quote from a movie:
"I like your nurse's uniform, guy. "
"These are my O.R. scrubs."
"O, R THEY?"
Anyone? 

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: I have two younger sisters. One is 25 and the other is 22. They both live in New York and I don't see them nearly enough.

T. Time you wake up: 5:30 during the week, between 6:30 and 7:00 on the weekends. I'm one of those annoying people who love the morning and greet the day with chipper enthusiasm. The downside is that I have trouble staying awake past 10pm.

U. Underwear: I wear it almost every day. ;)

V. Vegetables you don't like: Hm. Tough one. I honestly can't think of one vegetable that I do not like. I have a number of fruits I'm not fond of, but I'll eat just about anything in the vegetable kingdom. 

W. What makes you run late: Trying to do too much at once. I always think I have time before leaving for work to fold the laundry, walk the dogs, work out, prepare snacks, check my email, play another round of Words With Friends, etc. Before I know it, I'm five minutes late for work. That said, I'm pretty good about showing up on time for things so it doesn't happen that often. 

X. X-rays you’ve had: Just my teeth. Somehow, I have never broken a bone in my life. (Knock on wood!) 

Y. Yummy food you make: I make lots of yummy foods, but my most recent experiment in deliciousness was the carrot cake I made for Nathan's birthday. I didn't photograph it but I want to blog about it, so I will be forced - forced! - to make it again this weekend. Poor me! ;) 

Z. Zoo animal favorites: I prefer my wild animals to remain wild. That said, my favorite wild animal is probably the elephant. Or the giraffe. I like monkeys too. Also penguins. This question is almost hard as the vegetable question! 

Have you completed this survey? If so, link it up in the comments and share the ABCs of you, with me! 

2011 Plan of Attack Progress

Seamus is the Patron Saint of Resolutions. While camping, he finally overcame his fear of the canoe
and had a lovely trip around the lake with Nathan and John. May Seamus be an inspiration to us all!

In the interest of accomplishing my goal of making 2011 my best, most creative, productive, exciting and monumental year yet, I will be periodically reviewing my Plan of Attack progress.

Creative Goals
Writing: While I haven't been very consistent with my goal to write for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, I have been writing more often, with better focus. Last week, I received a rejection from a magazine with some great feedback from the editor, which was very motivating. I've already started rewriting the story and I'm loving the new direction it's taking. As for my goal of submitting one story a month to a journal, I skipped January but did submit one story to five journals for February. And I have another story ready to go - it's just a matter of figuring out where to send it. I should be able to catch up in March with submissions and be on track to fulfill this goal.

I also entered a contest yesterday, so that's one down, five to go. My rule with contests is that entrance fees up to $20.00 are acceptable, but only if you get a "free" subscription to the journal in exchange. Consequently, I am looking forward to receiving copies of both Gulf Coast and Willow Springs. Not too shabby!

Reading: I decided to kick off 2011 with a very long book, so even though I've only read one book so far this year, I have definitely been reading regularly. My methods for fitting in more book time (reading before bed and traveling with a book) have paid off, though I have to admit - I've not been taking notes while reading. Hard to do in bed. I have, however, started reviewing books on my blog, which I hope you're all enjoying.

Photography: I have yet to sell my current camera and get a nicer point and shoot (need to pay off credit card first) nor have I taken a class or read a book about photography. One thing I need to do is make a bigger, better light box. I love the results I get when I use it, but mine is already banged up and falling apart. 

Health Goals
So far, so good! I did indeed PR in Houston - my finishing time fell in between my A and B goals. Go, me! While I haven't started weight training, I have been swimming and rock climbing twice a week, respectively, which sort of counts, maybe? I also invested in a moisturizer with SPF 15 and started wearing a little mascara a few times a week. Baby steps!

Financial Goals
I am making the last payment on my credit card this month, which  will be the biggest accomplishment of my adult life. I'm exaggerating, of course, but only slightly. I'm also doing well with the Great American Apparel Diet - I have avoided clothing stores and unsubscribed from all clothing companies' mailing lists. I'm looking forward to putting more money in savings and towards my student loans once the massive credit card debt is a thing of the past. Exciting!

Calvin still has some work to do as far as canoeing goes.
He looks calm in this photo, but don't be fooled.

In Conclusion
2011 was off to an okay start - I made some strides towards my goals, even while falling short here and there - but change doesn't happen over night and many of these goals are about creating new habits and shifting my priorities. In that sense, I think January and February served well as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the months that lie ahead. Now, I need to continue the momentum and make some major accomplishments in March and April, mostly so I can report good news here. Wish me luck!

How are your resolutions going? Is 2011 all your dreamed it will be?