August Was Hit-and-Miss, but Mady Made Up For It

It’s the end of August, and time for the update, and I’m going to have to confess that August has not been the best month for keeping resolutions. At this point, it’s a toss-up which was worse, April or August. Hmmm…. must be something about those A-months.

1. Writing. Yes, I’ve still been writing every day. Yes, I’ve managed to post to the blog every day. No, I haven’t worked on the project twice a week; in fact, most weeks, it wasn’t even once a week. I’m really going to have to do better with that. I am also exploring some options to publish some other work on Amazon, through their self-publishing program. I’m working on reformatting some of my work into what seems to be a more acceptable font and size for publishing in book form. That takes some time, and that’s the time that should be delegated to my other project, according to my resolution. Granted, in January, I wasn’t aware Amazon had this program, but I still shouldn’t let that interfere with keeping my resolution. In addition, August has been a busy month, full of transitions, and that, too has played a role in my lackluster performance this month. Again, though, I should control that better than I’m currently doing. I really hope I can get something figured out so September is better.

2. Reading. This was definitely my worst month since April. I managed to read two books, well below the 6.25 per month I need to stay on pace, which also puts me down ten books for the year. I should be at 50. I’m only at 40, and my stubbornness of last weekend didn’t help anything because I could have easily finished that book I’d started, had I not been in bed barely able to hold my head up thanks to my untreated sinus infection. That same stubbornness, though, is also why I am not conceding defeat on this goal. I still have four months to reach my goal of 75 books for the year. I have to do 35 more. I’m not giving up yet. I’m nothing if not stubborn.

So what did I manage to get read this month? The first was Mr. Monk Is a Mess by Lee Goldberg. This book caught me up on all the Mr. Monk books that have been published. Mr. Monk is one of my truly favorite characters, and I love reading these books and picturing the actors from the television show Monk as the events of the stories unfold. Goldberg, who was a contributor to the television series, does an excellent job making the characters come to life in the books. The other book I read was on my Kindle, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Before the Prairie Books is a collection of Wilder’s writings that she published in magazines years before writing her series of life on the frontier. I loved the Little House books and television series as a child, and I thought I would enjoy these writings. The articles were interesting, but I must admit, I enjoyed the Little House books more.

3. Weight Loss. What can I say? I’m stuck. I know it’s my own fault, and I suppose given that I’m not working at it like I should, I should be happy to still be breaking even. At this point, I’ll take not gaining weight to be as much of a win as losing weight. Again, I’m hoping once I have adjusted and get things under control with my new schedule that September will be a better month for me in all aspects.

4. Recipes. Up until now, this was the resolution I was having the most success with. Most weeks, we tried not one but two new recipes. I guess that’s a good thing because August has been lackluster at best. In my defense, I could say that since all the other months had been such a success in regard to this resolution, I am allowed one that isn’t as successful, right? And I do have a good excuse. Most of our new recipes are tried on the weekends, and with the exception of last weekend when I was too sick to do anything, we spent our weekends in Lexington visiting our new granddaughter. Frankly, if it comes down to choosing between spending the day with Mady or trying a new recipe, Mady wins. I did manage, however, to get one new recipe in, Honey Garlic Pork Chops. I liked it, but Byron did not. I will make it again so Jimmy can try it because I’m pretty sure he will like them, too. I guess when compared to the lackadaisical success of the other resolutions, I should be happy that this one has only had one bad month.

5. Updates. At least there is one resolution I can be assured that I will meet, and that’s updating you. I’ll confess this one was one that I didn’t want to write, given the hit-and-miss success of the month of August. But one of the lessons my daddy taught me is that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, and so here it is. At this point, the best I can do is hope that the September update is a better one.

It’s Been a Corny Friday

I have a lot to do today, and I should probably already be started on it but I haven’t, so I’ll have to make the blog a short (and maybe sweet) one. Therefore, I’ll just throw out some random thoughts about what I’ve got going on.

My prayer was answered. We will have corn to put away this summer, which is why I have a lot to do today. Since we had none to put away last summer, though, I will not complain. Last night, Dad brought about six sacks of corn. Byron and Cody got it all shucked and it’s now sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me to do something with it. I should have started that already (it’s almost noon as I type, may be a little later before I post since it has to be proofed first), but I every time the clock went off, I hit the snooze. Yesterday, I got up and took Cody to work at 8:00, came back home intending to sleep a couple more hours but couldn’t, so I got up. I stayed up and had no nap and didn’t go to bed until 2:00 this morning. Today after I took Cody to work, I had no problem going back to sleep, the problem was getting back up. But I am up now, I’ve had breakfast, and I’m ready to go work on corn. Some will go in the freezer on the cob, and some will be cut off the cob, which is my favorite. If I put it in on the cob, then fix it for supper, I end up cutting the kernels off before I eat it anyway.

Last night, or should I say early this morning since it was just before I went to bed at 2, I finished rereading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. I love this book! It reminds me of all the reasons I write, and it makes me feel a connection with other writers. I also like the fact that since King understands how writers feel, he gives us permission to do what we love without feeling guilty about it because somebody else might think we ought to be doing something else. This book is one of my all-time favorites, and if you’ve never read it, I suggest you do. Yes, he talks about how he thinks you can improve your own writing, but there’s a lot more to it than that. You really get to know Stephen King, and you realize he isn’t really as scary as his picture always makes him look.

I’m still waiting for my granddaughter to make her arrival. This is a very exciting time for us. It’s amazing how much you can love someone you’ve never even met. I had those feelings for my own children, and I have them for her. I’m really looking forward to the adventures she will bring into our lives. The due date is July 25, my birthday, so it could really be any day now. Every time Trav calls now, there’s that anticipation of is he calling just to chat or is he calling because it’s baby time? This little girl will be very spoiled, but that’s alright. She will also be very loved, and she will be taught to respect others. As I’ve said before, you can spoil a child without destroying a child.

Well, I suppose it’s that time. The corn is waiting. The sooner I start, the sooner I finish. Hopefully I can find something on TV to watch while I’m doing all this corn. It looks like Food Network, my default channel, is having a Chopped marathon, which is a show I like but I think I’ve seen every episode multiple times as it is. I’m sure I’ll find something.

Just a quick update. My wonderful husband just now got around to proofing my blog for me, so I guess he was as busy as I was. But the good news is I’m over halfway done with the corn. It sure would go a lot faster if Nic were here to help. So, I hope you all have had a great day. I’m going to finish up for the night and then take a break before getting back at it in the morning. Good night.

Weekends Shouldn’t Be Wasted

For most of us who are lucky enough to work Monday through Friday and have our weekends off, every weekend, we are truly blessed. The weekends provide a great opportunity to refresh ourselves for the next week. There are a variety of ways to do this.

1. Spend some time with your family. This is easier to do when the kids are little, obviously, but just because they’re grown doesn’t mean you can’t spend time with them on the weekends. My best weekends are when all four of mine are here. Whether we are actually doing something productive together, like putting up the Christmas tree, or something less productive like watching a movie, I just can’t think of anything better than having all my kids together under one roof.

2. Cook something new. My husband and I like to take the opportunity to try new recipes on the weekends. Sometimes we get lucky and find one that most of the children will also eat, but even if they won’t share our new meal with us, we still get to have some great new dishes to try. So far, we haven’t tried a recipe that we didn’t like.

3. Nap. During the week, we may feel guilty about taking a nap, even though we get up early to go to work. When we get home, we have to take care of things around the house and feed our families and ourselves, so we don’t feel like we have enough time to nap, or we feel that a late-afternoon nap will keep us up too late and we’ll  end up not getting enough sleep at night. On the weekend, take advantage of the more laid-back schedule. You can both sleep in and take a late-afternoon nap, and don’t feel guilty about either.

4. Take care of chores. This one, obviously, isn’t as much fun as some of the others, but the weekends do provide some extra time to get some housecleaning tasks done. My suggestion is to do these as quickly as possible so you can have more time to do the other fun things.

5. Read books and/or watch movies. A lot of the time, during the week, we can’t find the time to do some of the fun things we want, like read a book or watch a movie. Take advantage of the weekend to do these things. They’re very relaxing. You know it’s been a good Saturday when you’ve spent it in the recliner and have managed to read an entire book, especially if you’ve also managed to squeeze in a nap. As far as the movie, that can be in the comfort of your own home, or you can take the time to make the trip to the theater and watch a new release.

6. Take a trip. Sometimes staying home is the best option, but occasionally, a trip somewhere is a good idea too. You can go watch a college or professional ball game, go to a concert, go shopping, go out to dinner, go visit relatives, or take a mini-vacation. Whether it’s a big or small trip doesn’t really matter, sometimes it feels good and is refreshing to just get away for a few hours.

And now as the weekend is winding down, and I’ve managed to spend it cooking with my daughter, working with the kids to get the Christmas tree up, enjoying a great Thanksgiving dinner with my church family, napping, reading a book for pleasure, and just hanging out with my husband, I feel ready to tackle this work week. Of course, since it’s only a two-day work week, that makes it much easier.