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So, go figure. Just as I decide to do this Fiction Friday thing, I go and skip a week. Well, that won't do. So I'm doing two today. This week's and last week's. Last week's assignment was to start with this sentence: "As soon as (the main character) arrived, (the main character) sensed something was out of place." Here it is: As soon as I arrived, I sensed something was out of place. Sure, at a glance everything looked just as I'd left it. But the hair on my arms wasn't standing at attention for no reason. It was an instinctual feeling. Someone had been here. And recently. I went in the study and stood behind my desk. It wasn't neat by any standards, but the mess had an organization that only I could understand. Only now, it was clear someone had tried to put the various papers and files back to the best of their ability. It wasn't good enough. I sat down and shoved a too-neat pile of folders to the side. Did they find what they were

"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence." ~ H. L. Mencken  Well, there are several different directions I can take that quote. I found it in my Awe-Manac (previously mentioned and still suggested reading). I agree with Mr. Mencken on this one. Of course, I am a romantic to the core. And romantics are not really known for their intellect. In fact, they are championed for behaving as though matters of the heart are completely separate from matters of the mind. Need proof? Watch the ending of almost any romantic comedy and you'll see this idea reinforced. In fact, I'm going to make a list of three of my favorite heart-minus-mind romantic comedy moments. Potential spoiler alert if you haven't seen these movies yet - though, with this genre you'd probably see these events coming ten minutes after the movie started. So, continue if you like.  1. Bridget Jones's Diary - One of my all-time favorites. This is the go-to movie if I'm feel

This weekend is my big-time baking weekend. I have four projects on my list: Bourbon Spice Applesauce, Dad's Oatmeal Bread, Sweet Potato Donuts, and Pizza. Though after snacking on the dough from today's bread project, tomorrow's pizza project might get nixed. Somehow, the idea of more bread became slightly unappealing. We'll see.  I knew I was going to need a soundtrack for my cooking, but wasn't in the mood for a musical underscore. In times like these, there are only two options. It's either The Office, U.K. Version or The Vicar of Dibley. The Vicar won today. Would you believe it took me the entire first season to make my two cooking projects today? I was just finishing up the applesauce and the bread had about 20 minutes left to bake as the last episode was ending.  There was something about the familiar mixing of the flour into the oatmeal and molasses and the sound of one of my favorite shows. I found myself missing home. My dad first got me hooked o

When I first moved into my current apartment, I opted not to get cable. I did splurge on internet - though for the first week or so before it was hooked up, I felt so disconnected I nearly went crazy! Anyway, I didn't always feel like watching a dvd so I started hunting down alternative viewing options online. To my delight, I stumbled upon the entire series of The Golden Girls! I had always enjoyed the show, but it wasn't until I watched it from the beginning that I came to really appreciate it. Because my sister likes lists - and I want to keep at least one of my four followers happy - I am going to return to that format and list the top five life lessons I've learned from the ladies of this fabulous series.  1. Don't be afraid to embrace a childlike innocence. No one does this better than Rose Nylund. She definitely comes off as dumb to the other women quite frequently, but she is also easily the most cheerful of the four. There are moments I find myself enjoying t

"Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is." ~ Mary Anne Radmacher     When I did my post on fear, my sister encouraged me to stick with the list format. Since she's the only one to comment one way or another on lists, I'm gonna give her what's she asked for. This post will also feature a list. Mary Anne Radmacher took care of making it up for me. How nice of her! The above quote is one I came across ages ago at Barnes and Noble. It was on a cute little magnet and I liked the quote so much that I bought it. I use my refrigerator at least once a day, but I realized I now look right past that magnet. When I bought it, I had the hope that it would encourage me to live with more intention. In an effort to get back to that ideal, I'm going to make a list of the things Radmacher suggests and plo

I'll be honest. This blog only exists because my sister started one and after reading hers, I decided I wanted one, too. It's a bit of a role-reversal for us. See, she's the younger sister. All our lives, she's been the one wanting to do what I'm doing. Or wear what I'm wearing. Let's take a deeper look at this second issue. I like to think of it as The Case of the Disappearing Clothing. (I was a huge Nancy Drew fan, so I'm inclined to title things in the fashion of those books.) Now, I've always been interested in clothes. I like to consider myself "fashionable." I don't trend-chase too much - partly due to my limited clothing budget - but I do like to look like some thought has gone into what I'm wearing. Looking back at grade school yearbook photos, a stranger would probably not get this about me. But at the time, all of my clothing choices felt spot on. And, let's keep in mind that some of those pictures will be from th

I went back to Chicago over the Labor Day weekend to visit my sister. She recently moved there with her boyfriend, and they were kind enough to host me for my visit. On my first night with them, there was a terrific rainstorm. I was thrilled. One of the things I've missed the most since moving to LA is rain. We don't get much here. We definitely never get the kind of thunderstorms that the midwest does. This wasn't a thunderstorm, but the rain was pouring down loud enough to hear through the open living room window. I couldn't wait to crawl into the sofabed and fall asleep to the sound. I hadn't realized that this meant I'd also be treated to the crazy wind! This managed to knock around who knows what in their old building and did so every time I was about to drift off. Anyway, I did eventually fall asleep. And the moments when I could hear the rain pattering through the window made the other noises pale in comparison. When I got back, I found the following piec

Almost two years ago now, I had a really crappy New Year's Eve. I mean, they tend to run in our family, but this one beat 'em all. It was bad. The next day, I went to the bookstore and found The Awe-Manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder by Jill Badonsky. It must have been some kind of divine inspiration because this book was exactly what I needed. If you have never heard of it, I strongly suggest purchasing it. It's awe-mazing. (See what I did there?) Anyway, just like a real almanac, it has a page for each day of the year. These pages include quotes, interesting holidays, celebrity birthdays, and writing prompts. The entire book is meant to free up creative energy and get your spirit in a good place. It does the job well. Today's page included the following journal prompt: "Talk about your relationship to or any memories of TV dinners." ( It's the anniversary of the sale of the first Swanson tv dinner sale. ) As soon as I read that, I thought of my Grandma Pear

I am going to be trying a new thing for the Friday entries, which a friend of mine is doing. It's Fiction Fridays and involves getting a prompt from another site and then basically free-writing on that prompt for at least 5 minutes. No major editing is allowed. This week's prompt was to write about a character who has an irrational fear but tries to hide it. I spun that a little and mixed it with the previous week's prompt of writing a scene with only dialogue. Let me know what you think about this bit of fun if you want!  "She's terrified of what?" "You heard me the first time." "Regardless, I'm going to need to hear you say that again." "Toilet paper. She's scared to death of the stuff." "Yep. That's what I thought you said." "I never said she didn't have quirks." "The woman is afraid of Charmin. How does that even work?" "I didn't ask. It didn't seem li

"Your mind knows only some things. Your inner voice, your instinct, knows everything. If you listen to what you know instinctively, it will always lead you down the right path." ~Henry Winkler I started out looking for tonight's topic in a poetry-writing book I own. The back is filled with groups of spark words and as my eye caught the word "voice," I knew that was what I wanted to write about. I'm thrilled to have found my quote, primarily because I love Henry Winkler. During my freshman year spring break, my dad and I went to New York City for the week. We lucked into tickets for a show starring Henry Winkler and John Ritter. We also lucked into the fact that it was some sort of charity week on Broadway and all the theaters were doing special fundraisers. For this show, you could get your picture taken with those two gentlemen for $20. I still have the photo, of course.  But back to voice. This quote happens to touch on everything I was hoping to dig