Catching Up

I haven't been very good about blogging lately. At all. And that's really sad, because I had all these beautiful ideas about how I would do things differently this month and blog about the experiences, and now the month's a third over.

So.

First, and most importlantly, I turned in Plain Jayne. The bolt of fabric has been wound up and handed off.

Second, my editor likes it. She laughed. And she laughed at jokes I thought I might be asked to omit. So that's all very, very happy.

Third, without a book, I don't know what to do with myself, and throwing myself into tidying the apartment doesn't have the appeal you might think. Amazingly enough.

I have started strategizing about Simply Sara. Not quite writing yet, but I'm alright with that. I am enjoying not sharing my head with anyone else at the moment.

Here are some of the NEW and/or DIFFERENT things I've tried in the last month -

1. To celebrate the turning-in of the book, Danny and I went to Mazzi's on a date. It's kind of a Eugene classic, but I hadn't gone in my sentient adult life. We really enjoyed it, and especially our table next to the (fake) fireplace.

2. We've watched In Bruges, Rachel Getting Married, and Star Trek. We're also a disk and an episode away from watching all five seasons of House, M.D., which I'm quite addicted to. Sarcasm? Cynicism? Guitar kidnapping? So there.

3. I'm learning new piano music. I realized a few months ago I've been playing the same pieces since school, mainly because I haven't had time or piano access to learn anything new. Now I'm working on a few songs and really enjoying it.

4. While I haven't tried any new recipes (kinda ran out after last month), I did try a new technique. I knew the traditional Italian Ragu method called for cooking the meat with milk after it's browned. I tried it with sausage before I added the prepackaged sauce - wow! The milk tenderizes the meat, creating a really yummy sauce. I did get a really yummy-sounding new recipe from my friend Aimee today, so more on that later.

5. I'm drinking more water. Hydration is a happy thing.

So far, haven't found any fabric I've liked for throw pillows. But I'm hopeful that I'll find something in the coming months. With Sara (my character, not a real person) being a seamstress, I'm really looking forward to improving my almost-nonexistant sewing skills.

And let's hope I write another blog by the end of the month!