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Links List

~ Rose Sparrowking

 

  • The Bodies of the Girls Who Made Me: Fanfic and the Modern World. I’ve written fanfic and this essay was such a revelation for me. “I honestly think the reason so many fanfic writers are women/girls [or gay, or gender-noncomforting, or some combination of the above] is a mixture of social stigma [“ew, fanfic is a GIRLY thing, ew, it’s all PORN, and most of it is GAY PORN”] and seeking a way to empathize with The Default. I also think this contributes to the prevalence of male/male couples in fanfic even when written by authors who identify as straight: by being only The Default, we move away from the “ew icky girls” reactions. But that’s another conversation.” AND “Enter The Default, that strong-jawed, clear-eyed, straight, white, cisgendered, able-bodied, vaguely Christian (but not too Christian) male.”
  • Keto for Women: 7 Tips to Make it Work. I’m on keto day #9 and I’ve lost 4 pounds so far. I’ve been focusing on adding more protein and fat and less carbs. All the rest I can add in if I think it’s necessary and if I think it will help with my goals.
  • None to Run. I am walker but I’d like to be a runner. Again, I think it will help with my help goals, I don’t have to join a gym (although, I may) and I can do it anywhere. I just started this on Monday. Eight 30 second runs each followed by a 2 minute recovery—not too bad. Challenging enough but not impossible for me. And it builds gradually.
  • Evolve by Imagine Dragons. Music I’m listening to now. Great to walk/fun to. Good beat. A little bit different. Great lyrics.
  • Brave Enough by Lindsey Stirling. More music I’m loving right now. I guess I’m enjoying something a bit different from the pop music on the radio. Bought this for the song “Something Wild” and I am enjoying the whole album.
  • Mark Hamill Instagram. I may join Instagram just to follow him. He dressed as a Stormtrooper and moved through the San Diego Comic Con incognito. Love this!

Make a choice. Every day.

~ Rose Sparrowking

I always have a story going on in my head. The last few months it’s been a fan-fiction crossover of Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica. Part of me wants to write it. Magic vs tech. Very cool. And I’d get to kill the whole Cylons-get-religion plotline that my atheist heart despised.

All the Fandoms

I may write that someday, for fun and to stop it nagging at me, but for now my desire is to write an original novel. (I don’t know if that’s my greatest desire. I keep telling myself that. It is on my mind daily.)

I’m at a point in my life where I have unencumbered time to write. The kids are in college and it isn’t necessary for me to work outside the home. Last week I was completely alone while my husband traveled for business.

And I wrote NOTHING.

I binged watched Grey’s Anatomy. (I didn’t even watch BSG or HP with the excuse of research.) I felt guilty and gave myself many depressive mental tongue-lashings. But I still didn’t write.

I did work on my novel for an hour today. Because I can muster up will-power on occasion. But first I did laundry, sorted out some clothes I no longer wanted, made a lovely breakfast, re-did my wreath for Spring, ordered some photo prints, photographed the cat…

Resistance 1, Me 0. (The War of Art, Steven Pressfield)

I’m currently reading The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop : A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch and two things have stuck with me so far:

  1. You have to sacrifice. There’s only so much time. You can’t do everything. You can’t binge watch Grey’s Anatomy and make a dent in producing a novel. You have to choose. Every day a choice. Write or ____. And most days you have to choose to write or the novel will never be finished. Or the next, slightly better novel will never get finished. And so on.
  2. Your first drafts are like free writing. Just keep writing. (And now Dory is singing in my head.) Get the draft done. Edit and re-write later.

What does this all mean to me? I need to write. Daily. And without interruption.

Make a choice. Every day.

Mitten March 2018

 

 

 

Quick Restaurant Review: The Duck

~ Rose Sparrowking

The Duck, Sturbridge, MA

4 out of 5 stars

The Duck’s online description had me wary: “…steaks, enjoy a fantastic seafood special, bite into a mouth-watering cheeseburger.” Oh no, not more pub food. But they are part of the group that owns Cedar Street Grille, one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Thankfully, the Duck is upscale pub food, with a twist.

The appetizer menu looked interesting but we were too afraid to fill up before the entrée to order any. Duck Confit Poutine, Candied Bacon Skewer, Basil Gorgonzola Bread… all looked scrumptious. I saw the House Mac & Cheese appetizer and it was huge!

They have a wide selection of craft brew beers available, which my hubby loves, although we chose to drink wine with our meals.

The hubby had the braise short ribs special, which was amazing. He could’ve eaten with a spoon it was so tender. He didn’t care for the cheese on top because he’s not a blue cheese person, otherwise it was a thumbs up.

I had the Grilled Veal Rib Chop off the standard menu. I hadn’t had veal in a long time and had never had this cut. The port wine mission fig demi gave a nice char to the chop with enough sauce leftover to swirl my bites in. The rib chop was a bit tougher than expected but still very tasty.

We will definitely get back to The Duck but I’m looking forward to Avellino, the Italian restaurant downstairs from The Duck for my next foray.

 

Did I really fail?

~ Rose Sparrowking

Big snow today. Really late in the season for a blizzard.

Failed on the no TV yesterday. 3 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. 😦 It was either that or eat.

Also, gave in on the diet. Pizza and a PBJ for dinner.

Maybe I shouldn’t call these fails. Maybe I need a change of mindset. Yesterday, by 3 pm, I was exhausted. What I should’ve done is take a 30 minute nap and re-evaluate. Instead I chose to veg out watching Grey’s Anatomy (I love the first few seasons, then not so much.) I was even more tired after this and vetoed prepping any food for dinner. Scrounge nights are fine for clearing out the frig but I scrounged up my daughter’s rather gross leftover pizza augmented by a PBJ.

So what have I learned? Sometimes you eat crap and watch crap. Sometimes that’s okay. It’s when it’s not sometimes but everyday that’s giving me issues.

Next, meal prep is my friend. Or ingredient prep at least. Prepping when I’m not exhausted and having things ready to go will be a blessing later in the day when I don’t want to move, let alone cook. (I don’t really like to cook, but I do it because I’m the one who’s home and has the time. My husband likes to cook and it shows in the deliciousness of his meals. But with him working the long hours that he does, I don’t expect him to come home and cook as well.)

TV is no substitute for sleep. I have nothing against TV. In small doses, it’s great entertainment. In large doses, it’s procrastination.

Again, what have I learned? 1. Set aside some prime morning time to prep some meals/ingredients. 2. Take a nap in the afternoon if I’m dropping from exhaustion.

I’d like to be friends with sleep again but whatever life changes I’m going through now are throwing a spanner into that relationship. Even when I sleep the night, I don’t sleep deeply and wake up still tired. Someday, we will be friends again.

I’m supposed to be writing about what things I want to make priorities in my life but fuck that. It’s a snow day. Tomorrow I will have the house to myself and I can do uninterrupted navel gazing.

Brain Dump

~ Rose Sparrowking

Starting a push today to do the things I meant to be doing all along this year, before I turn 50, but I haven’t. I turn 50 in August—that’s only 5 1/2 months away! I keep thinking about getting fit, losing weight, writing a book or a dozen, purging all the extraneous crap from my house, simplifying… and so much more. But I haven’t done any of it!

So, to start with and to start small, today I’m doing a brain dump, to get everything out of my head that I keep repeating to myself so I can make a plan-of-action to accomplish it or cross it off the list and stop expending energy on it.

Goals today:
1. write my list. carry that notebook around with me because I don’t remember things otherwise.
2. no daytime tv! Like I have time for TV if I’m working on this.
3. eat healthy. (Lunch is my downfall but I have yummy leftovers so I won’t do drive-thru!)
4. walk 10,000 steps. (As of 2:30 pm, I’m at over 7000 steps so this is attainable!)

Continue reading →

Winter blues

~ Rose Sparrowking

Or maybe perimenopausal blues. I don’t know why I feel like crying to day. It’s sunny out and I have the whole house to myself for the first time in months. Yet I want to cry! I am tired as I took no meds to sleep last night. I am spotting only 2 weeks after my last period. I haven’t made effort on my ideas of habit change for 2017.

Okay, maybe there are reasons to cry. 😢

And then get off my ass and do something about it!

Zombie

~ Rose Sparrowking

Note to self: Never take Unisom Sleep Tabs again! Doxylamine Succinate apparently activates my dormant zombie genes. I may look awake but I’m not!

I’ll stick with the Sleep Gels. With a chaser of Magnesium Stearate, I sleep soundly through the night—an accomplishment in my perimenopausal sufferings—even if I don’t wake up especially rested. Does anyone really hop out of bed in the morning all chirpy and awake?