I'm Glad My Parents Taught Me That

This is just a few things I'm glad my parents taught me growing up, no matter how much I complained and dragged my feet along the way.

1. To make the bed: I used to get frustrated at this one. Why should I make my bed when I'm just going to sleep in it again tonight? Now I know that my bed is the centerpiece of my room, and if it isn't made, the entire room looks messed up no matter how clean the rest of it is.
2. Doing the dishes after every meal: It seemed so time consuming, and I used to think "this can just wait till after dinner before I go to bed..." Now I know that if you get them done as they are used, your kitchen stays clean longer and looks nicer, and you have a wider range of dishes to use at any time of the day when there isn't a stack of them in the sink with food all over them. Yuck.
3. No food in the bedrooms: I am the first person in my house to bring my plate to my computer. But after battles against roaches, ants, and mice in an old country house that would normally have them anyways, I know now that if you keep food confined to certain areas of the house, you keep the pests away longer rather than inviting them in. It also helps keep the rooms looking (and smelling) nice.
4. Clean the hair out of the drain after a shower: Okay so I'm the only person in my house that this applies to, but I used to forget all the time and I never had a second thought about it. But when the tub stops up or drains slowly now, I know it's because of me. Clean it out after every shower and the kids' bath will drain properly, so after they are dressed there will not be any water leftover for them to jump back into. Which they do often.
5. Mowing the lawn: I used to hate doing this. It didn't seem like it should have been my job anyways, and it was hard labor outdoors--and I completely despised all three of those words. Now I know that if my husband gets out there and shreds the pastures, I can easily get out there and push-mow the yard. Glad I know how to operate the lawn mower.
6. Anger management and respect: I wasn't the child with the anger problem, though I could have easily been. I know I have a short temper. But thankfully I also had parents that taught me to respect my elders and keep my anger in check; so now I know how to handle authority (which helped tremendously in the Navy) and I know what it's like to be on the other end of the argument, so I feel as if I have more patience towards my kids. It has also done wonders when interacting with my in-laws; no matter how frustrated I might get about something, I know how to stay calm and keep a smile on my face.
7. Folding and hanging laundry: I hate doing this. I always have, and I probably always will. It's not that it's hard, and it's not all that time consuming either. But there's just something about it that drives me crazy and makes me dread laundry day. But I know, after years of being told to get my laundry done, that it really does have to get done once it comes out of the dryer. Otherwise piles of laundry get stacked up by the closet, you have to dig to find your favorite shirt in the morning (if it's even clean), you start to get clean and dirty laundry mixed up, the cat starts sleeping in it, and--not surprisingly--mice are attracted to it as well. But your floor stays clean and you know where all your clothes are if you just fold them and hang them from the get-go.
8. Cooking: Every one of my parents taught me how to cook something different. That's about five different favorite foods that I am glad to know how to make. Waffles and ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce from my stepmom, sausage and rice casserole with cream of mushroom soup from my mom, meatloaf from my stepdad, eggplant parmesan from my dad, and chicken and cream cheese crescent rolls from my dad's girlfriend. Not that I ever hated cooking, I love to cook. Especially baking. But thanks to my parents I know how to make more than just hot dogs and macaroni every day. =)

How Do You Write A Story?

I found myself with so many ideas for my book, that I had to stop and take a moment to remember exactly what it is that will make this a "book" and not just a bunch of pages with words on them. This is really just my thoughts on the progression of a story, to help me stay organized and on-topic.

• You have to have a main character. You can have more than one, but at least one.

• You have to summarize and define this character in their life before the story takes place.

• Something has to happen; some turning point or event that sets the main character on a path to change who they are.

• There has to be a journey of some sort through the story, whether that journey is physical, mental, emotional, or all three combined.

• There needs to be some sort of negative or “evil” taking place throughout the main character's journey, something that will eventually collide paths with the main character to result in a confrontation of some sort.

• The evil needs to have an uprising. It needs to appear as if evil may just triumph after all; though of course we all know it wont, there has to be a turning point where it seems as if it will.

• There has to be a confrontation, the one that resulted from the main character's and the evil's plot lines colliding.

• There should be a twist. Something unexpected that makes you gasp in surprise (or alarm even), something that captures your interest and makes you want to read more. Where this twist takes place in your story is entirely up to you, but most times it's at or near the end.

• Evil will be vanquished. In some way or form, there should be an ending in which good rises up against evil and triumphs, setting the world right again.

• There is typically a period of “floating” after the battle, in which perhaps there is sadness or a sense of grieving over something lost. Good always loses something in epic battles, and at some point when evil has been conquered, good takes the time to show respect and care for lost loved ones and destruction.

• The conclusion of the story should tie up all the loose ends. What happened to the evil? What will happen to the main character(s)? What dynamic changes have occurred to form the new being that the main character embodies? What happened to everyone else that was important to the storyline? Where will it all go from here? You don't have to set it up for a sequel, but you should give the readers a sense of closure, so that when they turn the last page, they aren't left with a feeling of emptiness, or a million questions (unless of course you ARE writing a sequel, in which case questions and curiosity are a good thing... though emptiness is never something you want to leave someone with).

Well, I think this ought to help me organize my thoughts. I've spent a good part of today doing a bit of research, so I'm hoping I can pull this together and form a good storyline, with characters that the readers can associate with things/people/creatures and develop feelings or emotions towards, to sort of "connect" to. I hope the worlds I create are worth reading about, because in my head I really would love to visit each and every one of them.

Author in the Making?

I was about to start this post off with "Wow, it's been a while since I've posted, huh?" But then I noticed I last posted within a week, so it has in fact not been a while at all. However, I had good reason for feeling as if it's been quite some time since I've been on this blog.

A few weeks ago, hubby ordered me a new tarot deck online. Not all of you know that I'm interested in that sort of thing-- well, you do now. My mother introduced me to the cards when I was in high school, and although I've been out of practice and out of touch with the cards for a few years, I recently decided to reconnect with my intuition and begin a new deeper study of the cards, on a much more personal level. Four days ago, my cards arrived in the mail. Since the first day I've had them, I have told myself that I was going to sleep with my cards under my pillow for a week, to allow my subconscious to "introduce" itself to the cards, and to transfer my thoughts and emotions into the cards while I slept, during which time my subconscious would be at it's strongest.

Well, each night since I've begun putting the cards under my pillow, I have had dreams. Strange vivid dreams, some of which have been so intense and detailed that it's taking me days just to write it out in my dream journal. If you haven't already noticed, I have my four main blogs linked to each other on each blog's page. Mommy's Personal Space is this one, my main everything blog; My Sleeping Journey is my dream journal where I record--obviously--my dreams; Words to Emotions is where I write any poems and songs in my head (though I haven't added to that blog in a while); and Crystal's Tarot Journal is my newest blog, where I am documenting the study of my cards as I journey into my subconscious.

One of my most vivid dreams, one I had two nights ago, tells a story of my meeting and traveling with The Dragon King. It was such a detailed dream that I have had to separate the post about it into two parts, and I'm still writing the second part (which may end up being separated into a THIRD part!). I have shown this first part to a few people, and have had people tell me I should turn this story into an actual book.

Now, when I was a little girl, one of the many things I wanted to be when I grew up was an author. I wanted to write books and have them published and have many many adoring fans and dedicated readers; I wanted to write a book series and become famous. When I was about 12 I began writing a book; I took a tweety bird notebook I had and wrote out a full 15 pages front and back... then lost the notebook. That was a HUGE blow to my confidence, and I gave up writing. To have lost so much of a story, it just didn't seem worth it to try any longer.

Writing has stayed as a dream of mine, quietly biding its time in the back of my mind until I was ready to tackle it again. I love to write, I love to read, and I love the things that take place inside my head and the opportunity to share those things with the world. The problem I face is that I have never wanted to stick to something that I had to really concentrate on and think hard to write about. This dream--my Dragon King-- is something I don't have to think about at all. I know him personally, in this dream, and I love the adventure he took me on. I think I really could write a book about it.

So here I am, my own Self as an open book, ready to go on a new journey--ready to wander back down a familiar path--and ready to finally share my dreams with the world (literally). Perhaps one day I'll have a book published; perhaps you will all be walking through a book store and see my name on the Bestsellers list. Here's hoping. ♥

Recipe: Banana Cookies!

 Who doesn't love a good cookie, right? Well, my friend Megan found this fantastic recipe online for banana cookies. She was telling me about it one day while she was baking them, and I just had to try it for myself. It's a great recipe, and they came out delicious. More like mini cakes than cookies, with a great banana flavor.

However, as good as they were, we both agreed they needed something more. Like, some small change to them to make them even better. So after doing a bit of testing today, I found a few changes that I am keeping in my personal version of the recipe, and I'm going to share with you my new and improved banana cookie recipe.

Preparation time: 8 minutes
Bake time: 11-13 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract (vanilla extract works well too, if you don't have almond)
1 Cup bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
2 Cups flour
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
Optional: 1 Cup chocolate chips or walnuts, or both

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray. (I use the cooking spray.)
2. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and continue to beat.
3. Mix mashed bananas and baking soda in a bowl; let sit for 2 minutes to froth a bit (this gives the cookies their rise).
4. Mix bananas into butter mixture. Add almond extract.
5. Combine flour, salt, and spices. Add to banana mixture and mix well. Add in any extra ingredients (chocolate chips or nuts).
6. Drop in large Tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

There are other options and experiments

Plain banana cookies

Chocolate chip banana cookies

you can try as well. My friend Megan mixed in mashed strawberries to make Strawberry-Banana Cookies. I tried with both almond and vanilla extract; although both were better than the original recipe in my opinion, the almond extract just added a little something extra, though I can't quite explain it.

You can find the original recipe here. I encourage you to experiment with it yourself, find something you really like, and make it your own! That's the best part of baking... making new (tasty) discoveries. ♥