Long week

I don't know what it is about busy weeks. I feel so drained. I don't like having something planned every day even if they're good things. And they've all been good things so far. I will post about the Governor's and First Ladies Conference for Women in the future. It was awesome. I also attended the Ricky Nelson Remembered concert with my mom on Wednesday and that was excellent too. I mainly went with her because she needed someone to go with, but it was a fabulous show. I have one Nelson cassette (After the Rain) and I can't think of the last time I've listened to it, but let me tell you, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson are really talented, funny and sentimental and I'd definitely attend another show.

Tomorrow is the all day workshop with Chris Vogler and I can't wait! If I don't pick up a tidbit or two about plotting from this man, I'm hopeless indeed.

Current Mood: Stressed. Fridays are stressful at work if you're behind--and I am

Excited

I'm really jazzed. Here's where I'm going on Tuesday! Ok, not as exciting for those of you who aren't into politics or women's issues, but to me it's major. My boss can't go so she gave her ticket to me. 7 other people from my job will be there as well. I remember how she she faithfully called and called and called the day the tickets went on sale. I feel bad that she can't go when she's the one who did all the work to get them in the first place. I'm glad she picked me, though. :)

I just started to check out the lineup of speakers and I'm floored. Even the Dalai Lama will be there!

*~*~*

Also, I'm going here on Saturday! Groovy, huh? Since I'm having tons of trouble plotting the WIP, this should give me a whole new way to look at it.

Current mood: happy

Grrrr

I hate the new Blogger in Beta. I wanna switch back but it won't let me. Now I can't comment on anyone else's blogs who isn't in Beta too. Just grrrrr!

Current Mood: I probably don't need to tell you, right?

Hmmm...

I just upgraded to the new Blogger in Beta. I'm still not sure what that means, but I did it. Blogger made it sound like there would be all these cool new templates to change the look of my Blog, but I didn't see any more than they had before. It would be good if they could at least add more color choices to the ones they already have. Oh well. I have no idea if the new Beta Blogger dropped features that I like. I guess time will tell.

So, Writerly Ramblings looks pretty much the same, no?

Current mood: sleepy. Time for bed.

Sunday

I just thought I'd post a short little hello to all my Blogger and LJ pals. This is a pic of Lulu sitting in our kitchen. You may notice the funny way she sits. I think this is a Bully thing, because of the shape of her legs and body. She sits on her butt like a person. It's the funniest thing. Most of the time her back legs are sticking out between her front legs with the bottoms of her feet touching. (Of course I don't have a pic of that.)

We took her to the vet yesterday and she still has her lung infection. The vet says pneumonia is what she actually has and that she probably got it at the shelter. No wonder poor baby can't exercise much. The vet took x-rays and the haze is clearing up, but it's still there. She sent us home with another week of the stronger prescription. Hopefully all will be better next week.

We also took Rutherford to the vet. Yes, what a fun Saturday! He got in another fight last week and we've been treating a wound on his chest, but it's not closing up. She told us we did good, that it was healing well and the Tea Tree Oil we'd been putting on it (my mother-in-law swears by it and keeps us stocked) is working and to keep using it. She also sent us home with Amoxicillin drops that "taste like bubblegum." I had no idea that cats liked the taste of bubblegum but apparently they do because it's been no trouble getting him to swallow the stuff. Drops are so much better than pills. Yay! Our kitchen counter is a pathetic site with all the pet meds on it, but oh well.

Nothing exciting to report today. Did grocery shopping, going to run another load of laundry and wash my big mop of red hair in a few minutes. Watched some of West Wing season 2 last night and it was great as usual. The hubby is putting up some big sheets of material over our (lattice) patio cover to make more shade for Lulu. The usual.

Current Mood: Sleepy

Recipe

Since I love this recipe, I thought I'd post it. This is what I brought to the Potluck we had at work this week. I call it Joanne's Chinese Cabbage Salad, but I've also heard it called Chinese Cole Slaw. It's very simple to make and consisits of dressing, topping and the actual veggie-part.

*~Joanne's Chinese Cabbage Salad~*

To make the dressing
Combine all in a shaker:
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Sugar (I only use 1/2 of this)
Chopped fresh garlic to taste--if you like (I always use some)
1/2 bottle of Gerard's Caesar Dressing (I use Non-fat--with all the vinegars, you can't taste the difference)

To make the topping:
1 package of Top Ramen Noodles
1/3 cup chopped almonds
Break up the dry noodles and brown them in a pan (I spray the pan with Pam rather than using butter). Once they start to brown add the seasoning packet and the almonds and toast everything. Be careful because it browns quickly once you add the seasoning and almonds. Set aside to cool.

The basic salad consists of:
I large head of cabbage
2 bunches of green onions
Shred the cabbage, chop the onions, and put everything in a large bowl.

To serve:
Keep everything separate until ready to serve. Toss cabbage mixture with the dressing (I never use it all) and once it's tossed add the ramen/almonds and toss it a little more.

To make it a meal salad:
Add chunks of chicken breast and have fun with it. Add mandarin oranges and shredded carrots, chunks of broccoli or tomatoes for color. For a meal, I'd add all of these things. Maybe a little red onion too. I believe in "more is more." Plus, it's all healthy too. You only get a small amount of fat from the ramen and almonds.

It's really fast and easy to make--shredding the cabbage takes the longest. Once you have the vinegars and soy sauce in your cupboard, you only have to buy the dressing, cabbage, onions, nuts and noodles. Nice when you're in a hurry.

Enjoy!

Current Mood: Satisfied. I just posted last week's critique to my writing workshop and copied this week's scene so I can hopefully work on it tomorrow.

Sterf

Sterf is a silly way to say "stuff" that a friend of mine came up with. Actually, a group of us pretty much consider it a real word now. You can use it too if you like. I know she won't mind. :)

*~*~*

EVS~
I hate Reality Shows. Hate them, hate them, hate them. (Why do all the participants almost always have to live in one house? It's so annoying!) That being said, I did find one that held my interest this season. Rockstar Supernova. I watched nearly every show--well, I mostly watched it once a week, sometimes twice--I don't have the patience for the whole 2-nights-in-a-row deal. I'm proud to say that a couple of episodes in a pegged the guy that they picked (Lukas) because I thought he was young and annoying, but he had some talent--raw with potential. Later, after he'd showed versatility and a great stage personality I was almost positive they would choose him.

I didn't have an absolute favorite--they rotated. At first Storm was kind of annoying, but by the end, she was probably my favorite. I really liked Magney's personality and he was a talented singer and musician. Ryan was super-talented and I loved the piano performance he did. Toby was a funny guy--and later I realized he was talented too--not so much at first. (The whole EVS thing was really cute. "EVS" is Toby-speak for "whatever.") Patrice had a couple of great songs, but the rest was just so-so. I liked Dilana a lot until that whole interview-deal when she imploded. By the last show, though, she had me back and I was hoping they would choose her over Lukas--but I knew they wouldn't. Too much drama. Plus, were they ready for a female lead singer?

When Lukas performed with Supernova last night, though, it was really entertaining. Anyone could see that they were pleased with their choice. Gilby offering to help Dilana with her record was very cool too. I sort of got the feeling that she was his pick, but he was outvoted.

*~*~*

Lulu~

Lulu is doing really well. She is on stronger meds this week for her lung infection. She grows more affectionate every day. The rescue stopped calling when my husband sent them a well-worded e-mail telling them she was sick and had other health issues (we thought they should have divulged) and that we needed to get her well before getting dog #2. For a while there he'd changed his mind about getting a second dog. I was worried because Lulu really does like other dogs and I think she should have a friend. He's since changed his mind back, though, so we're on the same page. Get her well. Take our time choosing a friend for her. Not allow the rescue to pressure us. This is our 3 step plan.

*~*~*

On Writing~

I've decided to try to make my Fantasy novel into a Romance and see how that goes. I've been working on it (off and on) for like 4 years now and I think the change of genres might help. Michele my CP suggested this a while ago and I should have listened to her, but I wasn't ready to try that then. Maybe I am now. I think having a second protagonist and story-line might make the novel more well-rounded. It's really odd that I'm having such trouble finishing this story and maybe this is what it needs. Or not. I can always go back to Fantasy if that's what I need to do. We'll see.

I have not been writing a 1/2 hour per day every day as I said I would. I did do it twice this week so far, so that's something. I have to write this week's critique for my online writing workshop tonight so I won't be behind tomorrow when the next scene is posted. (Scenes are posted on Fridays.)

*~*~*

That's all for now. Anyone out there doing the goal-setting thing (*cough*Dee*cough*) how are you doing? Not that I'm naming names or anything. :)

Current mood: Full. We just had a potluck at work!

All Lulu, all the time

Since we adopted our Lulu, our lives have become all Lulu, all the time. And this is a good thing. Before Lulu, our lives were all about Niki, so we're used to it. Craved it really. I don't think I could ever consider my life complete without a dog or two (or three).

Last Saturday we took her to the vet and found out that she had a lung infection. You could actually see the hazy film all over the x-ray. No wonder she huffed and puffed when we took her for walks! We also found out she has a heart murmur. My poor baby!

The Rescue keeps calling and trying to get us to adopt a second dog, but we need to hold off. Lulu's health and well-being are far more important than "her need to be with other dogs" as they keep saying. She plays with the dog next door and she meets other dogs on walks. She's not lonely. I only hope they don't try to take her from us because it's starting to feel that way. Every time my phone rings I cringe. I love my Lulu and I'm not giving her up. Look at these pix people. Seriously, what's not to love?

Current mood: Resolute