feeding the muse

i am revising. i am cooking. that is all.

kale & white bean soup

deluxe breakfast sandwich

salad w/ pear & bacon

bourbon hot chocolate

i love my csa!

grilled fish w/ spinach and tomatoes

bruschetta

vietnamese caramelized grilled pork

smothered burrito

garlic & broccoli soup w/ olive bread croutons

penne w/ meatballs & greens (remix)

homemade drop biscuits (i have a terrible oven and don’t really bake, still delicious)

frittata w/ homemade drop biscuit

spicy chicken biscuit w/ honey thyme glaze

chickpea burger w/ chimchurri

chickpea burger w/ sweet potato curry (remix)

fish w/ edamame pesto

chicken w/ mixed olives & capers

grilled tomato & herb cheese sammie’s w/ chow-chow

stuffed tomatoes

soy glazed fish

greens w/ onions & mama’s chow-chow

hasselback potato

blood orange bourbon sidecar

song of solomon

just broke my “no t-shirts with words” rule for this. probably too big, but i don’t care. happy birthday to me! via modcloth.

happy birthday to me!

is it just me?

or does this puppy remind you of somebody?

carleen brice posted this link to hipster puppies and i couldn’t stop giggling. the boston in that pic looks just like my friend takema’s boston terrier miss sophia who is named for the character in the color purple.

learning to fly 2009

this year i made what i thought was a simple resolution–be more jamey in 2009. i think that accomplished that goal, but first i had to figure out what that meant. i had been on such a journey with my writing that most of the “me” went into trying to become a writer. i had my head down for years, just doing the work and all of a sudden i was a bonafide writer. i had my first fiction publication in a national magazine. i was profiled in galleycat. i appeared on panels for the louisiana book festival and at the words and music festival.  i was starting to trust my writing process. that part of my life was shoring up, but when i started to look around at the other areas of my life, they didn’t exactly look familiar. it was time to get rid of the crutches that i had assembled to prop me up along the way, the tricks that i no longer needed. it was startling when i realized that the goals that i had set for myself at the beginning of my writing journey had already been realized. it was time for new dreams,  bigger dreams but i faltered at the threshold. i didn’t think that i was ready to move forward. really, i knew that it was time. i was just scared to move beyond the space that i had worked so hard to create.

2009 had other plans. , 2009 pushed me out of the nest like a baby bird and forced me to fly. to my surprise, i found my wings. but then i was left to remake my nest and find my flock. i’ve been reading some wonderful books along the way. style statement by danielle laporte and carrie mccarthy. wishcraft by barbara sher and the creative habit by twyla tharp. also some fun fluff books like the bombshell manual of style by laren stover and french women don’t sleep alone by jamie cat callan.

so here, at the edge of a new decade i’m dreaming up a new, shinier, bigger, brighter, juicier world.

join me?

onward!

my lovely friends

i’m always the first to brag on my friends, but i get incredibly shy when they return the favor.  emilie over at jill of all trades and takema of loverly notions have had some very nice things to say about me recently. these women are the core of the community that holds me down in this crazy writing life. thanks, ladies! definitely check them out and subscribe to their blogs.

she’s quirky…

awhile ago i was tagged by the lovely pajama gardener carleen for this meme.

Link the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules in your blog.
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged

right off the bat i’m going to break the rules. i’m going to officially tag april, but if you actually read this, consider yourself tagged.

1. i have a phobia about putting holes in walls. i have two paintings that have been framed since december that are leaning against the walls.

2. i hate jello and jellied things except, strangely, jellied cranberry sauce.

3. i have an almost photographic memory with books and magazines. i can visualize book covers, magazine pages. it was really helpful when i was a librarian.

4. i ask my best friend caprice for the same thing for christmas every year. a workman horoscope calendar. i tear it off one day at a time and don’t look ahead. ever.

5. i cannot operate the bluetooth thingie for my cellphone. i’m kinda clueless with technology, but i still want an iphone and one of those flip videocameras.

6. in three years of my mfa program most of our seminars were held in the same room. i kept the same seat each time and even evicted someone who beat me to it. i only cared about this one classroom. once i sell my book i plan to sponsor a “secret” scholarship like a door prize to be awarded to the first first-year mfa to sit in “my” chair every fall.

i could go on…but these are just my unspectacular quirks…you should hear about some of my spectacular ones. *wink*

cause a girl can dream

and trust me, i’m only dreaming, but just looking makes me feel better…all items from vivre

ruffle cotton tunic $235 nancy gonzales handbag $4,100

gold hoop earrings, $180 flat sandals, $196

i’ve been tagged…

the lovely grace has tagged me for a meme (don’t you love that name?) where i recount the first lines of my blog for each month of 2007. at first i was like oh, why are there no posts until may? then i remembered thesis hell, graduation, moving and other such breakdowns..here goes…

• May: i’m home…
• June: so, yesterday i had had my mind on a grapefruit and avocado salad…
• July: sigh…it is amazing this writing thing
• August: when i wrote that post about the 101 summer meals, i forgot to print it out.
• September: i just took the fourth yoga class in a five class series.
• October: this….became this…
• November: it is no secret from those close to me that i often glean zen like wisdom from primetime in the daytime on tnt.
• December: i’ve been deeply noveling these days. after a day of working on deep structure, all my mind can take is reality tv and online shopping.