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You may remember that I started doing Sudoku puzzles last summer as part of my research for writing Annika Riz, Math Whiz. Alas, despite my being terrible at Suduko, despite my not even liking it, I almost instantly became addicted to it, as years ago I became addicted to solitaire. Tense, stressed, I'd tell myself, "I'll just do ONE puzzle to relax a bit." Hours later, I'd stagger away from my I-pad, bleary-eyed and drained. I'd delete the Sudoku app, pledging never to play it ever again - and then upload the app again a few hours later.
This was very bad.
When I returned to Indiana, I vowed that Sudoku would be a Colorado summertime vice, left behind as I flew a thousand miles to my other life in the Midwest. I made good on this vow for two weeks. But then one night, I was feeling tense and stressed. "I'll just do ONE puzzle to relax a bit. . . " And you can guess the rest.
But now I have a new weapon in my fight against this addiction: Disney princess stickers.
I'm sharing a house right with a DePauw colleague and her adorable three-and-a-half year old son. He agreed to share with me one of the many sheets of stickers he had been given at preschool; he said I could have "the girl ones." Now each day that I don't play Sudoku, I get one of these tiny Disney princess stickers. I haven't made myself a chart to post on the refrigerator, but I put the sticker on the day's page in my academic-year planner.
I have earned two Disney princess stickers so far. I love looking at them, rewarding me for Tuesday, and for Wednesday. Tonight, if I'm successful (and I know I will be, I will, I will!), I'll get my Thursday sticker.
I think I have this one licked. Or will have it licked very soon. And now I know that the same behavior modification strategies that work on three-year-olds work on me.
30 Eylül 2012 Pazar
Back to School Writing Workshop
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Last weekend I drove up to the Chicago area (careful not to hit any trucks AT ALL on the way there and back) to give an all-day writing workshop for the Illinois chapter of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Skokie-based author Carol Grannick did a brilliant job organizing the event; she had attended the retreat I facilitated two summers ago for the Rocky Mountain chapter of SCBWI, and ever since then, the two of us have been scheming about how to put on an intensive, but low-key and low-cost, program in the Chicago area focused on craft rather than marketing. And on Saturday, we did just that. We called the day "Back to School with Claudia Mills," since we knew that writers adore any excuse to buy freshly sharpened number-two pencils and brand-new notebooks.
Over the course of this very full day I gave four talks:
"Sturdy Structure and Peppy Pacing: A How-to Guide"
"'Don't Rub My Face in It": Writing about Weighty Issues without Being Heavy-Handed"
"Manuscript Makeovers: Taking Your Manuscript from Good to Great"
"How to Succeed as a Writer in An Hour a Day: Time Management for Writers"
I also gave thirteen ten-minute critiques on ten-page manuscripts (either picture books or chapters of a novel) submitted to me ahead of time.
I was somewhat nervous about the day because the forty people signed up for the conference ranged from complete beginners to established, well-published writers with starred reviews to their credit. But I think everyone came away from the day with something useful, especially given that I invited the starry stars to chime in with their own insights. I shared every mistake I've ever made as a writer - including mistakes I'm still making ALL THE TIME - and that made everyone willing to 'fess up to all those problems with our own manuscripts that we somehow can't see until someone else points them out to us - even as we can see the same flaws so clearly in everyone else's manuscripts except our own. And maybe now, after an exhausting and exhilarating day spent together, we'll all be a teensy bit better at avoiding them.
In my next post, I'll share some of my own best writing bloopers.
Over the course of this very full day I gave four talks:
"Sturdy Structure and Peppy Pacing: A How-to Guide"
"'Don't Rub My Face in It": Writing about Weighty Issues without Being Heavy-Handed"
"Manuscript Makeovers: Taking Your Manuscript from Good to Great"
"How to Succeed as a Writer in An Hour a Day: Time Management for Writers"
I also gave thirteen ten-minute critiques on ten-page manuscripts (either picture books or chapters of a novel) submitted to me ahead of time.
I was somewhat nervous about the day because the forty people signed up for the conference ranged from complete beginners to established, well-published writers with starred reviews to their credit. But I think everyone came away from the day with something useful, especially given that I invited the starry stars to chime in with their own insights. I shared every mistake I've ever made as a writer - including mistakes I'm still making ALL THE TIME - and that made everyone willing to 'fess up to all those problems with our own manuscripts that we somehow can't see until someone else points them out to us - even as we can see the same flaws so clearly in everyone else's manuscripts except our own. And maybe now, after an exhausting and exhilarating day spent together, we'll all be a teensy bit better at avoiding them.
In my next post, I'll share some of my own best writing bloopers.
My Writing Bloopers
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In my last post, I promised that I'd share a few of the writing mistakes I've made over the years in crafting my books. What puzzles me is not so much that I made these mistakes once upon a time, but that I continue to make them, or at least some of them, even in recent work.
1. When I wrote my picture book Phoebe's Parade, I had an entire full manuscript page devoted to a scene in which all that happens is that Phoebe and her family are eating breakfast and chatting together about the upcoming Fourth of July parade. In a picture book, you have to compress your story into fewer than a thousand words. You can't spend two hundred of those words on breakfast table chitchat.
2. When I wrote my middle-grade novel Dynamite Dinah, Dinah and her best friend Suzanne have a huge row over Dinah's bad behavior during the class play (Dinah is stunned when Suzanne ends up with the leading role in the play, a role that Dinah thinks by rights should have been Dinah's). The whole book has been leading up to this scene. Then in a later chapter, I mention in passing that they've made up their quarrel. What?! If the fight is so crucial, their reconciliation is equally crucial. You can't have such a significant scene happen offstage.
3. When I wrote my recent novel, One Square Inch, in which Cooper is dealing with his mother's mental illness, my editor told me that the book felt as if we as readers were just watching Cooper watching his mother fall apart. Cooper was reactive rather than active. Nobody wants to read a book where we just watch a character watching bad things unfold, as a passive bewildered bystander.
4. In the same book, my editor pointed out to me - this is what I most cringe now to report - that when Cooper comes to his central moment of epiphany (that he has to find some small safe place inside himself to deal with the terrible things in his life that he cannot control), it's Cooper's grandfather who tells this to him. This violates what is probably THE cardinal rule of children's book writing: your main character needs to solve his problems himself; your main character cannot have any kind of "lesson" spelled out to him from an adult authority.
Okay, that's enough confession for one blog post! Fortunately, even though I can't recognize my own blunders as I'm making them, I have a wonderful critique group and I've had wonderful editors who haven't been shy at telling me where and how I've gone wrong. And at least I know enough to listen to them when they do.
1. When I wrote my picture book Phoebe's Parade, I had an entire full manuscript page devoted to a scene in which all that happens is that Phoebe and her family are eating breakfast and chatting together about the upcoming Fourth of July parade. In a picture book, you have to compress your story into fewer than a thousand words. You can't spend two hundred of those words on breakfast table chitchat.
2. When I wrote my middle-grade novel Dynamite Dinah, Dinah and her best friend Suzanne have a huge row over Dinah's bad behavior during the class play (Dinah is stunned when Suzanne ends up with the leading role in the play, a role that Dinah thinks by rights should have been Dinah's). The whole book has been leading up to this scene. Then in a later chapter, I mention in passing that they've made up their quarrel. What?! If the fight is so crucial, their reconciliation is equally crucial. You can't have such a significant scene happen offstage.
3. When I wrote my recent novel, One Square Inch, in which Cooper is dealing with his mother's mental illness, my editor told me that the book felt as if we as readers were just watching Cooper watching his mother fall apart. Cooper was reactive rather than active. Nobody wants to read a book where we just watch a character watching bad things unfold, as a passive bewildered bystander.
4. In the same book, my editor pointed out to me - this is what I most cringe now to report - that when Cooper comes to his central moment of epiphany (that he has to find some small safe place inside himself to deal with the terrible things in his life that he cannot control), it's Cooper's grandfather who tells this to him. This violates what is probably THE cardinal rule of children's book writing: your main character needs to solve his problems himself; your main character cannot have any kind of "lesson" spelled out to him from an adult authority.
Okay, that's enough confession for one blog post! Fortunately, even though I can't recognize my own blunders as I'm making them, I have a wonderful critique group and I've had wonderful editors who haven't been shy at telling me where and how I've gone wrong. And at least I know enough to listen to them when they do.
Middle School Writing Workshop
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I spent yesterday at Greencastle Middle School as part of the Castle Arts program to bring guest artists into the classrooms of local schools to enrich their arts curriculum as they struggle with budget cuts and the pressures of high-stakes testing. I was asked to give SIX 43-minute-long writing workshops to various-sized groups of seventh graders - oh, and asked to incorporate a focus on bullying as well. I was somewhat dreading the day: would the students be silent and sullen? would they look upon me with withering scorn? could I explain a writing principle, get them to write and share their pieces, AND work in a focus on bullying, all in 43 minutes?
Well, as so often is the case with things I dread, the day turned out to be a delight. The students were engaged and on-task; the teachers were appreciative and supportive; the library even had numerous books of mine in their collection that I was able to sign.
Here's what the students and I did together.
First I talked about point of view: the way an author invites readers into a character's head to share his/her thoughts, feelings, experiences, and perspective on the world. I briefly presented the different creative choices available for an author regarding point of view - first person, third person, omniscient narrator - and the strengths and limitations of each one.
Then we made up the outline of a story together. I told them the story had to involve one kid being mean to another. What mean thing should it be? The students offered answers like: hitting/punching, calling names, stealing homework/lunch money, spreading rumors. Why would the kid do this mean thing? Here by far the favorite answer was: because the other kid was flirting with the first kid's boyfriend or girlfriend. (One group worked up a different story where the mean kid was picking on a new foreign exchange student, who hadn't even had time to hit on anybody else's girlfriend yet!). The third character in the story was a bystander to the meanness/bullying (usually the girlfriend/boyfriend in the story). The students did a great job of coming up with a backstory for each character.
Then they spent ten minutes engaged in writing this short scene, taking either the point of view of the bully, the victim, or the bystander. I made sure that every point of view was represented.
When students shared their work at the end of the class period, we could all see how much the story changed according to who was telling it. We learned that often the "mean kid" was responding to someone else's prior meanness (name-calling, for example), or felt remorse for how he acted. All the characters became humanized as we saw the event unfolding through the lens of their own point of view.
So now I have a new writing workshop I can do at schools - and an anti-bullying workshop at that! Thank you, Castle Arts, and thank you, Greencastle Middle School students!
Well, as so often is the case with things I dread, the day turned out to be a delight. The students were engaged and on-task; the teachers were appreciative and supportive; the library even had numerous books of mine in their collection that I was able to sign.
Here's what the students and I did together.
First I talked about point of view: the way an author invites readers into a character's head to share his/her thoughts, feelings, experiences, and perspective on the world. I briefly presented the different creative choices available for an author regarding point of view - first person, third person, omniscient narrator - and the strengths and limitations of each one.
Then we made up the outline of a story together. I told them the story had to involve one kid being mean to another. What mean thing should it be? The students offered answers like: hitting/punching, calling names, stealing homework/lunch money, spreading rumors. Why would the kid do this mean thing? Here by far the favorite answer was: because the other kid was flirting with the first kid's boyfriend or girlfriend. (One group worked up a different story where the mean kid was picking on a new foreign exchange student, who hadn't even had time to hit on anybody else's girlfriend yet!). The third character in the story was a bystander to the meanness/bullying (usually the girlfriend/boyfriend in the story). The students did a great job of coming up with a backstory for each character.
Then they spent ten minutes engaged in writing this short scene, taking either the point of view of the bully, the victim, or the bystander. I made sure that every point of view was represented.
When students shared their work at the end of the class period, we could all see how much the story changed according to who was telling it. We learned that often the "mean kid" was responding to someone else's prior meanness (name-calling, for example), or felt remorse for how he acted. All the characters became humanized as we saw the event unfolding through the lens of their own point of view.
So now I have a new writing workshop I can do at schools - and an anti-bullying workshop at that! Thank you, Castle Arts, and thank you, Greencastle Middle School students!
Ethics and Children's Literature
To contact us Click HERE
Today is the long-awaited first day of the conference on Ethics and Children's Literature that I have been planning for the better part of this calendar year. In fact, I remember sitting with Lisa Rowe Fraustino at the poetry-writing retreat early in January, as she helped me brainstorm how to word the call for papers. And now the conference begins this evening.
I have three keynote addresses. Acclaimed children's book author Susan Campbell Bartoletti (who won a Newbery Honor for her book Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, as well as just about every accolade available for her searing nonfiction for young readers on topics ranging from the Klan to the Irish potato famine) will open the conference tonight with “MovingThrough Fear: Writing History for Young Readers.” Friday night we'll hear from prominent children's literature scholar Claudia Nelson of Texas A& M University, who will look at one moment in our long history of moralizing to children through children's books in her talk “TransmittingEthics through Books of Golden Deeds for Children." On Saturday night, philosopher Tom Wartenberg of Mount Holyoke College will give the closing keynote, sharing his pioneering work in getting kids to talk about philosophical questions connected with ethics via picture book texts; his talk is "Teaching Ethics with Frog and Toad."
We'll also spend two and a half wonderfully full days listening to dozens of papers and talks by both scholars and children's authors. Many of the presenters are my dear friends, and I can't wait to welcome them here to the Prindle Institute so they can see my beautiful little DePauw world. The full program for the conference is available on the conference website at www.eclconference.org.
I wish all of you, my dear blog readers, could be here for the conference, too.
I have three keynote addresses. Acclaimed children's book author Susan Campbell Bartoletti (who won a Newbery Honor for her book Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, as well as just about every accolade available for her searing nonfiction for young readers on topics ranging from the Klan to the Irish potato famine) will open the conference tonight with “MovingThrough Fear: Writing History for Young Readers.” Friday night we'll hear from prominent children's literature scholar Claudia Nelson of Texas A& M University, who will look at one moment in our long history of moralizing to children through children's books in her talk “TransmittingEthics through Books of Golden Deeds for Children." On Saturday night, philosopher Tom Wartenberg of Mount Holyoke College will give the closing keynote, sharing his pioneering work in getting kids to talk about philosophical questions connected with ethics via picture book texts; his talk is "Teaching Ethics with Frog and Toad."
We'll also spend two and a half wonderfully full days listening to dozens of papers and talks by both scholars and children's authors. Many of the presenters are my dear friends, and I can't wait to welcome them here to the Prindle Institute so they can see my beautiful little DePauw world. The full program for the conference is available on the conference website at www.eclconference.org.
I wish all of you, my dear blog readers, could be here for the conference, too.
29 Eylül 2012 Cumartesi
Chai-tini
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Day 217
Chai-tini4 shots out of 5
I'm quite honestly not sure if this day will ever end. It's been "National Drive All Over The Place Day" today for me. I'm exhausted and ready for this cocktail I have here. Then I'll eat dinner. Maybe. Raviolis......yes I'll definitely eat dinner.
I gave tonight's cocktail 4 shots out of 5. I got tonight's cocktail from Petit Chef. There is a pretty good blend of ingredients in this cocktail I must say. The only thing I think I would change is the Chai to Baileys & Kahlua ratio. I would definitely lessen the Kahlua to 1 oz. The Baileys could either stay the same or lessen to 3/4 oz. I think the amount of Kahlua gives it too much of a bite and takes away the chai flavor and you know how much I love this Voyant Chai liqueur, so I think I just want to taste more of it......especially since it's called a Chai-tini. Either way, it's a good cocktail.
Only 2 days left for my Vinturi Spirit Aerator Giveaway!! Enter today for your chance to win!!
Here is the recipe for a Chai-tini:
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
Don't forget, if you can't get Voyant Chai in your state, you can always order it online at either www.drinkupny.com or www.astorwine.com. Here's to this Wednesday ending......soon I hope!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Chai-tini4 shots out of 5
I'm quite honestly not sure if this day will ever end. It's been "National Drive All Over The Place Day" today for me. I'm exhausted and ready for this cocktail I have here. Then I'll eat dinner. Maybe. Raviolis......yes I'll definitely eat dinner.
I gave tonight's cocktail 4 shots out of 5. I got tonight's cocktail from Petit Chef. There is a pretty good blend of ingredients in this cocktail I must say. The only thing I think I would change is the Chai to Baileys & Kahlua ratio. I would definitely lessen the Kahlua to 1 oz. The Baileys could either stay the same or lessen to 3/4 oz. I think the amount of Kahlua gives it too much of a bite and takes away the chai flavor and you know how much I love this Voyant Chai liqueur, so I think I just want to taste more of it......especially since it's called a Chai-tini. Either way, it's a good cocktail.
Only 2 days left for my Vinturi Spirit Aerator Giveaway!! Enter today for your chance to win!!
Here is the recipe for a Chai-tini:
- 2 oz Voyant Chai
- 2 oz Baileys
- 2 oz Kahlua
- 1 oz vanilla vodka
- 1/4 oz milk (whenever a cocktail asks for a "splash" of anything, I put in 1/4 oz. I actually measured my "splash" once and that's what it was, so I stick with it)
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
Don't forget, if you can't get Voyant Chai in your state, you can always order it online at either www.drinkupny.com or www.astorwine.com. Here's to this Wednesday ending......soon I hope!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Cupid's Kiss
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Day 218
Cupid's Kiss4.5 shots out of 5
Yeay, my husband is back home from his 4 day business trip. At times those 4 days went by so slowly and at other times (I think the 4 kids have something to do with it) those 4 days went by quite quickly. Either way, I think I'll celebrate his homecoming with a cocktail.
I gave tonight's cocktail 4.5 shots out of 5. This is a quick and easy shooter to make. It's a pretty color and goes down pretty darn smooth. I have been looking for a cocktail that has the Godiva White Chocolate and the Chambord mixed together in it and finally found one that sounded pretty darn good, and to my luck I was right! These three ingredients go well together, all three flavors of the white chocolate, black raspberry and vanilla compliment each other well, and the vodka part gives it a bite. Thumbs up from here on Cupid's Kiss!
You only have ONE MORE DAY to enter into my Vinturi Spirit Aerator Giveaway!! Believe me, you'll want this little guy to make you spirits taste even more flavorful then they already do!!
Here is the recipe for Cupid's Kiss:
In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above. Shake and strain your cocktail into a shot glass.
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
Here's to another great shooter!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Cupid's Kiss4.5 shots out of 5
Yeay, my husband is back home from his 4 day business trip. At times those 4 days went by so slowly and at other times (I think the 4 kids have something to do with it) those 4 days went by quite quickly. Either way, I think I'll celebrate his homecoming with a cocktail.
I gave tonight's cocktail 4.5 shots out of 5. This is a quick and easy shooter to make. It's a pretty color and goes down pretty darn smooth. I have been looking for a cocktail that has the Godiva White Chocolate and the Chambord mixed together in it and finally found one that sounded pretty darn good, and to my luck I was right! These three ingredients go well together, all three flavors of the white chocolate, black raspberry and vanilla compliment each other well, and the vodka part gives it a bite. Thumbs up from here on Cupid's Kiss!
You only have ONE MORE DAY to enter into my Vinturi Spirit Aerator Giveaway!! Believe me, you'll want this little guy to make you spirits taste even more flavorful then they already do!!
Here is the recipe for Cupid's Kiss:
- 1/2 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur
- 1/2 oz Chambord
- 1/2 oz vanilla vodka
In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above. Shake and strain your cocktail into a shot glass.
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
Here's to another great shooter!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Liquid Watermelon
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Day 224
Liquid Watermelon3 shots out of 5
I finally remembered to buy watermelon schnapps! OK, a week ago, but still I remembered. Then apparently I forgot since it took me until tonight to remember that I had purchased it a week ago and that I need to start using it in my cocktails.
I gave tonight's cocktail 3 shots out of 5. I totally admit that my first sip was too sweet......then I put my two middle kids to bed, talked about school and sports with them, tucked them in, and then came back and took another (watered down a little bit) sip. Better! This cocktail is OK. Nothing super special. Nothing I'm dying to make again or order at a bar, but it's OK. I will find a cocktail out there (if you have one please email it to me!) that I like a lot better then this one (that has watermelon schnapps in it of course). On a side note, this watermelon schnapps smells SUPER YUMMY! Kind of reminds me of jolly ranchers.
Here is the recipe for Liquid Watermelon:
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
Here's to remembering to use my watermelon schnapps! Until we meet again!
Cheers!
The Cocktail Lady
Liquid Watermelon3 shots out of 5
I finally remembered to buy watermelon schnapps! OK, a week ago, but still I remembered. Then apparently I forgot since it took me until tonight to remember that I had purchased it a week ago and that I need to start using it in my cocktails.
I gave tonight's cocktail 3 shots out of 5. I totally admit that my first sip was too sweet......then I put my two middle kids to bed, talked about school and sports with them, tucked them in, and then came back and took another (watered down a little bit) sip. Better! This cocktail is OK. Nothing super special. Nothing I'm dying to make again or order at a bar, but it's OK. I will find a cocktail out there (if you have one please email it to me!) that I like a lot better then this one (that has watermelon schnapps in it of course). On a side note, this watermelon schnapps smells SUPER YUMMY! Kind of reminds me of jolly ranchers.
Here is the recipe for Liquid Watermelon:
- 1 oz midori
- 1 oz vodka
- 1 oz watermelon schnapps
- 1 oz sweet & sour mix
- 1/2 oz grenadine
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
Here's to remembering to use my watermelon schnapps! Until we meet again!
Cheers!
The Cocktail Lady
Brain Hemorrhage
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Day 225
Brain Hemorrhage5 shots out of 5
I've got 3 sick children! My little Tiny Tot girl must have brought home a sickness from her school, which resulted in a fever and not feeling good. She passed it to my 3rd grader who missed 2 days of school and now my 1 year old just came down with a fever. Fingers crossed (while I ignore my itchy throat) that the remaining three of us don't get it.
I gave tonight's cocktail 5 shots out of 5. I got tonight's recipe from here. This is a fun shooter to make and interesting one to drink. Brain Hemorrhage is a perfect shooter for a Halloween party......or any party really! The place where I got this cocktail recipe from said that it tastes like peaches and cream, and I must say that it does pretty much remind me of that. The layering part of this shooter is pretty easy and the dripping of the grenadine is fun! Be warned.....when you do drink this shooter.......the parts of the Baileys that are hanging down, you can TOTALLY feel them in your mouth! It's kind of weird and you almost DON'T want to swallow it, but you'll get over it and will be glad you did!
Here is the recipe for a Brain Hemorrhage:
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
This is a fun and easy shooter to make. I hope you try it and if you do, I want to hear about it!!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Brain Hemorrhage5 shots out of 5
I've got 3 sick children! My little Tiny Tot girl must have brought home a sickness from her school, which resulted in a fever and not feeling good. She passed it to my 3rd grader who missed 2 days of school and now my 1 year old just came down with a fever. Fingers crossed (while I ignore my itchy throat) that the remaining three of us don't get it.
I gave tonight's cocktail 5 shots out of 5. I got tonight's recipe from here. This is a fun shooter to make and interesting one to drink. Brain Hemorrhage is a perfect shooter for a Halloween party......or any party really! The place where I got this cocktail recipe from said that it tastes like peaches and cream, and I must say that it does pretty much remind me of that. The layering part of this shooter is pretty easy and the dripping of the grenadine is fun! Be warned.....when you do drink this shooter.......the parts of the Baileys that are hanging down, you can TOTALLY feel them in your mouth! It's kind of weird and you almost DON'T want to swallow it, but you'll get over it and will be glad you did!
Here is the recipe for a Brain Hemorrhage:
- 3/4 oz peach schnapps
- 1/2 oz Baileys Irish cream
- 1/4 oz grenadine (you don't have to use all of it)
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
This is a fun and easy shooter to make. I hope you try it and if you do, I want to hear about it!!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Jager Monster
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Day 226
Jager Monster2 shots out of 5
Boy it's been a long week! Three kids sick this week and we're still going. Our oldest daughter missed both days of Tiny Tots this week, our second oldest son missed two days of school and our youngest came down with a fever yesterday as well. I'm ready for the sickness to be gone and our house to be germ free........or have less germs in it.
I gave tonight's cocktail 2 shots out of 5. I asked my husband if tonight's cocktail qualifies for a "Halloween Shooter" since it has the word Monster in it. He agreed with me, so here it is, another Halloween Shooter. But I recommend you leave it here because it is not all that good. I can taste a hint of the orange juice and I can definitely taste the Jagermeister. This is not a great tasting shooter, not even a good tasting shooter......it's actually pretty blah in taste. I would never make this shooter again, it's just not special enough to remember. Oh well, you win some and you loose some.
Here is the recipe for a Jager Monster:
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
I guess the fact that the word Monster is in the title actually does suit this cocktail well. It's such a monster of a shooter that I never want to try it again!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
Jager Monster2 shots out of 5
Boy it's been a long week! Three kids sick this week and we're still going. Our oldest daughter missed both days of Tiny Tots this week, our second oldest son missed two days of school and our youngest came down with a fever yesterday as well. I'm ready for the sickness to be gone and our house to be germ free........or have less germs in it.
I gave tonight's cocktail 2 shots out of 5. I asked my husband if tonight's cocktail qualifies for a "Halloween Shooter" since it has the word Monster in it. He agreed with me, so here it is, another Halloween Shooter. But I recommend you leave it here because it is not all that good. I can taste a hint of the orange juice and I can definitely taste the Jagermeister. This is not a great tasting shooter, not even a good tasting shooter......it's actually pretty blah in taste. I would never make this shooter again, it's just not special enough to remember. Oh well, you win some and you loose some.
Here is the recipe for a Jager Monster:
- 1 1/2 oz Jagermeister
- 1 oz orange juice
- 1/4 oz grenadine
Here is a photo of the end result:
Here is a photo of the ingredients:
I guess the fact that the word Monster is in the title actually does suit this cocktail well. It's such a monster of a shooter that I never want to try it again!
Cheers!!
The Cocktail Lady
28 Eylül 2012 Cuma
Italian Breakfast Skillet: Pork, it's whats for breakfast!
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Hearty, comforting, home cooked breakfast. That is what I want right now. There is nothing quite like home cooked comfort food for breakfast and this skillet is exactly that.
Loaded with some of my favorite comfort foods; potatoes, sausage and bacon with Italian flair.
There is just something about comfort food that is kind of like a big food hug. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. A warm Italian style pork skillet is just what you have been waiting for. Serve with a sprinkle of Italian style cheese blend to add more depth of flavor with Asiago, Romano, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Then top with a dusting of fresh basil and an egg over easy (or scrambled eggs if your tastes prefer).
Enjoy!
Make sure to check out these other fantastic home style dishes: Scroll to the bottom for Italian Breakfast Skillet recipe.
Lasagna is no longer only a weekend dish, with this 30 Minute - 3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna, dinner is just minutes away.
Fall comfort food coming to you in this easy Tortellini and Vegetable Soup. It is so thick and delicious, you can just about eat it with a fork.
Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake is loaded with your fav pizza toppings and tons of ooey gooey cheese! Better make 2! 30 Minute Meal!
Layer upon layer of drool worthy south-of-the-border flavors in this incredibly Simple Mexican Lasagna. Prep to plate in half an hour!
Italian Breakfast Skillet
serves 8
12 ounce bacon, chopped
1 pound package regular breakfast sausage, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of red potatoes, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
8 eggs over easy (one per person)
Italian cheese blend
Basil for garnish
In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook bacon until almost crisp. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add sausage to pan and cook until almost cooked through. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add oil to pan and then add potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and onion. Stir to combine and cover, stirring occasionally until potatoes are cooked through.
Return bacon and sausage to pan. Add tomato paste, basil, additional salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and allow to cook until tomato paste is distributed over the entire skillet. Add ¼ cup of water if needed to distribute the sauce over the entire skillet.
Serve and enjoy. Serve skillet with an egg over easy, a sprinkle of Italian cheese blend and a sprinkle of fresh basil.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com
Hearty, comforting, home cooked breakfast. That is what I want right now. There is nothing quite like home cooked comfort food for breakfast and this skillet is exactly that.
Loaded with some of my favorite comfort foods; potatoes, sausage and bacon with Italian flair.
There is just something about comfort food that is kind of like a big food hug. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. A warm Italian style pork skillet is just what you have been waiting for. Serve with a sprinkle of Italian style cheese blend to add more depth of flavor with Asiago, Romano, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Then top with a dusting of fresh basil and an egg over easy (or scrambled eggs if your tastes prefer).
Enjoy!
Make sure to check out these other fantastic home style dishes: Scroll to the bottom for Italian Breakfast Skillet recipe.
Lasagna is no longer only a weekend dish, with this 30 Minute - 3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna, dinner is just minutes away. Fall comfort food coming to you in this easy Tortellini and Vegetable Soup. It is so thick and delicious, you can just about eat it with a fork.Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake is loaded with your fav pizza toppings and tons of ooey gooey cheese! Better make 2! 30 Minute Meal!Layer upon layer of drool worthy south-of-the-border flavors in this incredibly Simple Mexican Lasagna. Prep to plate in half an hour! Italian Breakfast Skillet
serves 8
12 ounce bacon, chopped
1 pound package regular breakfast sausage, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of red potatoes, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
8 eggs over easy (one per person)
Italian cheese blend
Basil for garnish
In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook bacon until almost crisp. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add sausage to pan and cook until almost cooked through. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add oil to pan and then add potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and onion. Stir to combine and cover, stirring occasionally until potatoes are cooked through.
Return bacon and sausage to pan. Add tomato paste, basil, additional salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and allow to cook until tomato paste is distributed over the entire skillet. Add ¼ cup of water if needed to distribute the sauce over the entire skillet.
Serve and enjoy. Serve skillet with an egg over easy, a sprinkle of Italian cheese blend and a sprinkle of fresh basil.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com
3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna, in 30 minutes!
To contact us Click HERE
A weeknight lasagna is no longer just a fantasy, now it's reality. This 3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna is my favorite pan lasagna transformed into the perfect one skillet dish! Loaded with flavor and so much cheese, you will be making this again and again. Click the link below to check out this MUST have recipe! 30 Minutes from prep to plate this can be on your dinner table tonight.
Read the article and get the recipe after the jump~
Check out these fantastic, quick and easy dishes from our Simple Kitchen:
Fall comfort food coming to you in this easy Tortellini and Vegetable Soup. It is so thick and delicious, you can just about eat it with a fork.
Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake is loaded with your fav pizza toppings and tons of ooey gooey cheese! Better make 2! 30 Minute Meal!
Layer upon layer of drool worthy south-of-the-border flavors in this incredibly Simple Mexican Lasagna. Prep to plate in half an hour!
A weeknight lasagna is no longer just a fantasy, now it's reality. This 3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna is my favorite pan lasagna transformed into the perfect one skillet dish! Loaded with flavor and so much cheese, you will be making this again and again. Click the link below to check out this MUST have recipe! 30 Minutes from prep to plate this can be on your dinner table tonight.
Read the article and get the recipe after the jump~
Check out these fantastic, quick and easy dishes from our Simple Kitchen:
Fall comfort food coming to you in this easy Tortellini and Vegetable Soup. It is so thick and delicious, you can just about eat it with a fork.Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake is loaded with your fav pizza toppings and tons of ooey gooey cheese! Better make 2! 30 Minute Meal!Layer upon layer of drool worthy south-of-the-border flavors in this incredibly Simple Mexican Lasagna. Prep to plate in half an hour!
Homemade Crock Pot Tomato Paste
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Last year I bought cases of cases of the most delicious Roma tomatoes, all summer. I was so happy to make my own sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary basil sun-dried tomatoes, oven roasted tomato sauce and finally my own tomato paste. These recipes are perfect for storing and using throughout the winter and I am so excited to share this incredibly easy tomato paste with you. So you can enjoy yours through the winter too.
Enjoy!
Ever wanted to make Sun-dried Tomatoes at home, preservative free and delicious. Make these in your oven OR dehydrator.
Make the best tomato sauce ever with fresh tomatoes. Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce gives you that deep tomato flavor that you are looking for.
Homemade Crock Pot Tomato Paste
48 large Roma tomatoes
3 red bell peppers, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 clove garlic
Prepare an ice bath; fill a large bowl ice and adding water to start ice cubes melting. Place in sink.
Bring an 8 quart stock pot filled with water to a boil over high heat. Add about 8 tomatoes to water at a time and boil for 30-60 seconds. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and place in ice bath. Repeat until all tomatoes have been blanched. Peel skin from tomatoes, cut out core and bruised spots. Cut in half and set aside.
With clean hands squeeze tomatoes over a bowl and remove seeds and excess water. Place into a strainer over the sink, as tomatoes will continue to drain.
Add tomatoes to blender. Blend until pureed. Pour into crock pot. Add peppers, bay leaves, salt, and garlic.
Cook on low for 8 hours, or until thick. Stir every hour. You can also cook this on high, but it will need to be stirred every 15-20 minutes.
Once tomatoes are thick, you can remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer to freezer safe containers or to canning jars.
This tomato paste can also be canned using a water bath method (check your manufacturers instructions for details).
Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com
Recipe printed from http://TheSlowRoastedItalian.com/
Copyright ©2012 The Slow Roasted Italian – Allrights reserved.
Last year I bought cases of cases of the most delicious Roma tomatoes, all summer. I was so happy to make my own sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary basil sun-dried tomatoes, oven roasted tomato sauce and finally my own tomato paste. These recipes are perfect for storing and using throughout the winter and I am so excited to share this incredibly easy tomato paste with you. So you can enjoy yours through the winter too.
Enjoy!
Ever wanted to make Sun-dried Tomatoes at home, preservative free and delicious. Make these in your oven OR dehydrator.
Make the best tomato sauce ever with fresh tomatoes. Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce gives you that deep tomato flavor that you are looking for.Homemade Crock Pot Tomato Paste
48 large Roma tomatoes
3 red bell peppers, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 clove garlic
Prepare an ice bath; fill a large bowl ice and adding water to start ice cubes melting. Place in sink.
Bring an 8 quart stock pot filled with water to a boil over high heat. Add about 8 tomatoes to water at a time and boil for 30-60 seconds. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and place in ice bath. Repeat until all tomatoes have been blanched. Peel skin from tomatoes, cut out core and bruised spots. Cut in half and set aside.
With clean hands squeeze tomatoes over a bowl and remove seeds and excess water. Place into a strainer over the sink, as tomatoes will continue to drain.
Add tomatoes to blender. Blend until pureed. Pour into crock pot. Add peppers, bay leaves, salt, and garlic.
Cook on low for 8 hours, or until thick. Stir every hour. You can also cook this on high, but it will need to be stirred every 15-20 minutes.
Once tomatoes are thick, you can remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer to freezer safe containers or to canning jars.
This tomato paste can also be canned using a water bath method (check your manufacturers instructions for details).
Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com
Recipe printed from http://TheSlowRoastedItalian.com/
Copyright ©2012 The Slow Roasted Italian – Allrights reserved.
6 Fabulous Fall Cocktails to Ring in Autumn
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Time to celebrate the official arrival of Fall with these 6 fabulous Fall cocktails! Enticing Autumn flavors will draw you in and the cocktails will woo you. Delicious warm amaretto, rums, coffee liqueur and Irish cream are sure to capture the feeling of Fall and the apples and are the 'icing on the cake'.
6 scrumptious cocktails to get Autumn started. What are you drinking?
Don't forget to check us out on Facebook - we have a virtual Ladies Night party every Thursday. Come and link up your favorite cocktail or dish! Fabulous cocktails, fantastic food and amazing company. It is THE place to be on Thursdays!
Heidi's Comet Cocktail is a fantastic way to step into fall. It will warm you up with amaretto, vodka, apple cider and cinnamon.
The spiced and dark rums mingle with the bright amaretto energy, mixing day and night in one inviting drink: URBAN TWILIGHT!
Mocha Express Cocktail is a combination of your favorite espresso blend, Kahlua, Bailey's Irish cream and your best vodka for a kick!
Fabulous fall cocktail, this Cinnamon Toast Cocktail warms you with hot cider and Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum!
Caramel Apple Martini - Butterscotch and sour apple schnapps are combined with vodka to make this fabulous autumn-inspired drink.
Nutty Apple Cocktail - Creamy hazelnut, apple and french vanilla all come together to help you welcome Fall in this pleasantly surprising Autumn drink.
Time to celebrate the official arrival of Fall with these 6 fabulous Fall cocktails! Enticing Autumn flavors will draw you in and the cocktails will woo you. Delicious warm amaretto, rums, coffee liqueur and Irish cream are sure to capture the feeling of Fall and the apples and are the 'icing on the cake'.
6 scrumptious cocktails to get Autumn started. What are you drinking?
Don't forget to check us out on Facebook - we have a virtual Ladies Night party every Thursday. Come and link up your favorite cocktail or dish! Fabulous cocktails, fantastic food and amazing company. It is THE place to be on Thursdays!
Heidi's Comet Cocktail is a fantastic way to step into fall. It will warm you up with amaretto, vodka, apple cider and cinnamon.
The spiced and dark rums mingle with the bright amaretto energy, mixing day and night in one inviting drink: URBAN TWILIGHT!Mocha Express Cocktail is a combination of your favorite espresso blend, Kahlua, Bailey's Irish cream and your best vodka for a kick!
Fabulous fall cocktail, this Cinnamon Toast Cocktail warms you with hot cider and Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum!
Caramel Apple Martini - Butterscotch and sour apple schnapps are combined with vodka to make this fabulous autumn-inspired drink.Nutty Apple Cocktail - Creamy hazelnut, apple and french vanilla all come together to help you welcome Fall in this pleasantly surprising Autumn drink.
Maple Almond Granola Clusters
To contact us Click HERE
After spilling small cereal pieces all over the aisle in our produce and grocery stores several time I started looking at more practical snacks. I love making quick and easy snacks for my munchkin. An even better snack idea is one that is perfect "at home" AND perfect to "take with you".
I looked around for some granola ideas. Sweet oat snacks, how could you go wrong? Well, I saw some granola cluster recipes on Sally's Baking Addiction and Serious Eats that really inspired me, motivated and excited me about creating my own versions of granola. These Maple Almond Granola Clusters are our favorite granola. It is so good we eat about half the pan before it cools down! YUM! Enjoy.
Make sure you check out this fantastic granola recipe too:
Spiced Honey Nut Breakfast Granola is loaded with fruit, nuts, cinnamon and honey. So delicious, it will disappear like magic.
Maple Almond Granola Clusters6 cups old-fashioned oats1½ cups finely ground almonds1 teaspoon kosher salt½ cup canola oil1 cup packed brown sugar½ cup maple syrup1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Line an 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchmentpaper. Set pan aside. In large bowl, toss together oats, ground almonds, andsalt. Pour canola oil evenly over the mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to coatmixture evenly with oil.
Combine maple syrup and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.Warm mixture over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about six minutes.Gently stir the mixture frequently. Remove pot from the heat. Add vanillaextract. Stir to combine.
Pour sugar-mixture over oat-mixture. Stir with a wood spoonto combine. At first, the granola will be thick and sticky. Continue stirring,breaking up any lumps of sugar/oats with the back of the wooden spoon, untilthe sugar-maple is evenly distributed.
Press mixture very firmly into prepared pan. Bake untilgolden brown and aromatic, about 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Immediatelyscore granola into bars. (The granola might break into smaller pieces whenscored. This is fine.) Allow granola to cool. "Snap" bars intobite-size nuggets. Store granola in a covered container for up to two weeks.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com
After spilling small cereal pieces all over the aisle in our produce and grocery stores several time I started looking at more practical snacks. I love making quick and easy snacks for my munchkin. An even better snack idea is one that is perfect "at home" AND perfect to "take with you".
I looked around for some granola ideas. Sweet oat snacks, how could you go wrong? Well, I saw some granola cluster recipes on Sally's Baking Addiction and Serious Eats that really inspired me, motivated and excited me about creating my own versions of granola. These Maple Almond Granola Clusters are our favorite granola. It is so good we eat about half the pan before it cools down! YUM! Enjoy.
Make sure you check out this fantastic granola recipe too:
Spiced Honey Nut Breakfast Granola is loaded with fruit, nuts, cinnamon and honey. So delicious, it will disappear like magic.
Maple Almond Granola Clusters6 cups old-fashioned oats1½ cups finely ground almonds1 teaspoon kosher salt½ cup canola oil1 cup packed brown sugar½ cup maple syrup1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Line an 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchmentpaper. Set pan aside. In large bowl, toss together oats, ground almonds, andsalt. Pour canola oil evenly over the mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to coatmixture evenly with oil.
Combine maple syrup and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.Warm mixture over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about six minutes.Gently stir the mixture frequently. Remove pot from the heat. Add vanillaextract. Stir to combine.
Pour sugar-mixture over oat-mixture. Stir with a wood spoonto combine. At first, the granola will be thick and sticky. Continue stirring,breaking up any lumps of sugar/oats with the back of the wooden spoon, untilthe sugar-maple is evenly distributed.
Press mixture very firmly into prepared pan. Bake untilgolden brown and aromatic, about 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Immediatelyscore granola into bars. (The granola might break into smaller pieces whenscored. This is fine.) Allow granola to cool. "Snap" bars intobite-size nuggets. Store granola in a covered container for up to two weeks.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com
27 Eylül 2012 Perşembe
Ethics and Children's Literature
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Today is the long-awaited first day of the conference on Ethics and Children's Literature that I have been planning for the better part of this calendar year. In fact, I remember sitting with Lisa Rowe Fraustino at the poetry-writing retreat early in January, as she helped me brainstorm how to word the call for papers. And now the conference begins this evening.
I have three keynote addresses. Acclaimed children's book author Susan Campbell Bartoletti (who won a Newbery Honor for her book Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, as well as just about every accolade available for her searing nonfiction for young readers on topics ranging from the Klan to the Irish potato famine) will open the conference tonight with “MovingThrough Fear: Writing History for Young Readers.” Friday night we'll hear from prominent children's literature scholar Claudia Nelson of Texas A& M University, who will look at one moment in our long history of moralizing to children through children's books in her talk “TransmittingEthics through Books of Golden Deeds for Children." On Saturday night, philosopher Tom Wartenberg of Mount Holyoke College will give the closing keynote, sharing his pioneering work in getting kids to talk about philosophical questions connected with ethics via picture book texts; his talk is "Teaching Ethics with Frog and Toad."
We'll also spend two and a half wonderfully full days listening to dozens of papers and talks by both scholars and children's authors. Many of the presenters are my dear friends, and I can't wait to welcome them here to the Prindle Institute so they can see my beautiful little DePauw world. The full program for the conference is available on the conference website at www.eclconference.org.
I wish all of you, my dear blog readers, could be here for the conference, too.
I have three keynote addresses. Acclaimed children's book author Susan Campbell Bartoletti (who won a Newbery Honor for her book Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, as well as just about every accolade available for her searing nonfiction for young readers on topics ranging from the Klan to the Irish potato famine) will open the conference tonight with “MovingThrough Fear: Writing History for Young Readers.” Friday night we'll hear from prominent children's literature scholar Claudia Nelson of Texas A& M University, who will look at one moment in our long history of moralizing to children through children's books in her talk “TransmittingEthics through Books of Golden Deeds for Children." On Saturday night, philosopher Tom Wartenberg of Mount Holyoke College will give the closing keynote, sharing his pioneering work in getting kids to talk about philosophical questions connected with ethics via picture book texts; his talk is "Teaching Ethics with Frog and Toad."
We'll also spend two and a half wonderfully full days listening to dozens of papers and talks by both scholars and children's authors. Many of the presenters are my dear friends, and I can't wait to welcome them here to the Prindle Institute so they can see my beautiful little DePauw world. The full program for the conference is available on the conference website at www.eclconference.org.
I wish all of you, my dear blog readers, could be here for the conference, too.
Nibbled to Death by Ducks
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My Ethics and Children's Literature conference concluded on Sunday, leaving all of the presenters, attendees, and me with a warm, contented glow. The presenters and attendees said lovely things that I can cherish in my heart, like my student who wrote in her response paper to the conference: “In amere two and a half hour time, speakers at the Ethics and Children’s LiteratureSymposium mentioned topics spanning from Latin America, sex, abortion, childabuse, rage, moral perfection, all in the context of children’s literature. Andthis was all before lunch. The Ethics and Children’s Literature Symposium’ssessions I attended presented topics that helped my understanding of theinfluence and importance of children’s literature and the complexity that isembedded in every story.” Or the student who wrote: “Aftergoing to a couple of sessions, all I wanted to do was spend hours at thePrindle Institute talking to the authors.” Yes!
So the huge work of planning and executing the conference is over! The conference was a success! Now what am I going to do with the rest of my life?
Alas, the first thing that I have to do is all the things I left undone for the past two or three weeks in preparation for the conference (and for the all-day writing workshop in Skokie, and for the middle-school writing workshops here in Greencastle, as well as finishing up - after first facing and starting - a philosophy paper that was due September 1). I have dozens of tiny things to do, those things I call Loathsome Tasks, or LTs, small pesky jobs that I find so hard to face. On this, my first "free" day in weeks, I am being nibbled to death by ducks! So this is prompting some reflections on my part about how to deal with duck-nibbling LTs.
I do know that if we're not careful, LTs can nibble away our entire lives. It's so easy to fill a day doing nothing but sending and answering emails. Sometimes that may be necessary, but it's seldom satisfying, and I don't want my tombstone to read, "Many were the emails she answered."
My most important strategy for avoiding this fate is to make sure I have enough big, major, meaningful tasks to do that I have no choice but to prioritize them, giving them the first and best hours of my day. That is what I have done for all of September so far. But one can't neglect LTs forever. Sooner or later they have to be done - someway, somehow. Perhaps it would be ideal to leave them till the end of the day, or use them to fill up little bits of time in between other things. But I hate them so much I can't make myself do them on a day when I've already accomplished anything else. But if I give the first, best hours of my day to them, I'll live my whole life never accomplishing anything else.
So what I tend to do is declare one day simply as LT Day. I get up early in the morning on LT Day and make a very long master list of LTs and then I start to do them, and keep doing them until I get a sufficient quantity crossed off. Today is an LT Day. I have 35 items on my list, ranging from "call Superior Self-Storage to try to arrange auto-pay on my account" to "update recommendation letters for grad students x, y, and z" to "invite another speaker for the Undergraduate Ethics Symposium" to "call that nice man from tech support services to see if he will come help me with the visiting speaker for my class who is going to use Power Point in her presentation on Friday."
I have now, at 1:30 in the afternoon, crossed off 22 things on the list. Writing this blog (not an LT, but a T) will be number 23. A bunch of items remain, but, hey, 23 is pretty good. Perhaps good enough to go and eat some blueberry crumb cake left over from my conference snacks. And then on Thursday, I'll launch another major project - revising Annika Riz, Math Whiz - now that the ducks are somewhat pacified.
Quack!
So the huge work of planning and executing the conference is over! The conference was a success! Now what am I going to do with the rest of my life?
Alas, the first thing that I have to do is all the things I left undone for the past two or three weeks in preparation for the conference (and for the all-day writing workshop in Skokie, and for the middle-school writing workshops here in Greencastle, as well as finishing up - after first facing and starting - a philosophy paper that was due September 1). I have dozens of tiny things to do, those things I call Loathsome Tasks, or LTs, small pesky jobs that I find so hard to face. On this, my first "free" day in weeks, I am being nibbled to death by ducks! So this is prompting some reflections on my part about how to deal with duck-nibbling LTs.
I do know that if we're not careful, LTs can nibble away our entire lives. It's so easy to fill a day doing nothing but sending and answering emails. Sometimes that may be necessary, but it's seldom satisfying, and I don't want my tombstone to read, "Many were the emails she answered."
My most important strategy for avoiding this fate is to make sure I have enough big, major, meaningful tasks to do that I have no choice but to prioritize them, giving them the first and best hours of my day. That is what I have done for all of September so far. But one can't neglect LTs forever. Sooner or later they have to be done - someway, somehow. Perhaps it would be ideal to leave them till the end of the day, or use them to fill up little bits of time in between other things. But I hate them so much I can't make myself do them on a day when I've already accomplished anything else. But if I give the first, best hours of my day to them, I'll live my whole life never accomplishing anything else.
So what I tend to do is declare one day simply as LT Day. I get up early in the morning on LT Day and make a very long master list of LTs and then I start to do them, and keep doing them until I get a sufficient quantity crossed off. Today is an LT Day. I have 35 items on my list, ranging from "call Superior Self-Storage to try to arrange auto-pay on my account" to "update recommendation letters for grad students x, y, and z" to "invite another speaker for the Undergraduate Ethics Symposium" to "call that nice man from tech support services to see if he will come help me with the visiting speaker for my class who is going to use Power Point in her presentation on Friday."
I have now, at 1:30 in the afternoon, crossed off 22 things on the list. Writing this blog (not an LT, but a T) will be number 23. A bunch of items remain, but, hey, 23 is pretty good. Perhaps good enough to go and eat some blueberry crumb cake left over from my conference snacks. And then on Thursday, I'll launch another major project - revising Annika Riz, Math Whiz - now that the ducks are somewhat pacified.
Quack!
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